Gestures

Honestly as much as we try to convey our emotions online I don't think the message fully gets across. We have the smileys that help when trying to get our gestures and current emotions across but they still aren't the same. Tones are necessary in communication. You can tell a lot from someones tone and when you are missing that in messaging or chatting online you can quickly misconstrue emotions. I have seen it first hand. I get mad at people because I don't know they are joking, etc. The tongue out smiley :P and the abbreviations jk (just kidding) and lol (laugh out loud) help but do not solve the problems. I don't think anything can replace the way someone looks at you or away from you when they are talking to you. You can lie easily online, in person you generally look away from the person if you are lying to them. Gestures are very important in conversation, how you hold yourself, if you look comfortable with the conversation or not, or if you are exasperated or irritated. I think it will take awhile before gestures can be used online appropriately. Web cams is one way, but not everyone has a web cam.