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I don't believe that gestures truly make the transition to the online world. Yes, we have emoticons that serve as a reasonable substitute, but they in no way capture the essence of a gesture. No smiley face captures the effect of the eyes on the smile. Without the eyes in a smile you can't tell if it is genuine or not. Yes, it captures a smile and sends the message you want.

Think, for a moment, about how important gestures are in a normal conversation. If someone tells you something flattering, but doesn't look you in the eye, the compliment loses its effect. While on the internet you can throw out compliments one after the other, and they have to be taken literally because you lose the context in which they are given. It is so easy to lie on the internet because the lack of gestures gives you overwhelming courage to say what you want, even if you don't truly mean it.

Gesture does not transfer to the internet. The use of the internet as a tool for communication can and is effective, but we cannot rely on it to express our emotions because we lose full elements essential to expressing them. Yes, we have alternatives like the emoticon, but the emoticon will never be an accurate substitute for the subtleties of the muscles around our eyes or the movement of our bodies. So, no, it does not transfer.