Some people and even organizations believe that smiley faces, winks and other symbols of digital emotion are unprofessional, undignified, and have no place outside of a high school hallway.

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As many have said, the language trend that first started with email and later text messaging has been to use more abbreviations, and even symbols (emoticons or smiley faces) to convey ideas, emotions or context.

FORBES: The Changing Grammar of Communicating Ideas

Consider the self-selecting nature of posts with emoticons ones containing smiley faces seem sure to disproportionately feature information about kitties and soccer practices, while ones containing frowns are sure to be heavy on teenage nerd girls beefing with their boyfriends.

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The article cites a study published in the June issue of the journal Emotion, which is not to be confused with the journal Emoticon that recently sent shock waves through the tech world when it revealed that chronic overuse of smiley faces may cause dysentery.

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But officials are being asked to consider ballot papers bearing 'smiley' faces and games of noughts and crosses, as long as they appear in the space usually reserved for the voters 'X'.

BBC: 'X' marks the spot

Smiley Face: This font features cartoon faces with smiles, frowns, dopey looks, and other expressions.

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