The Tech Assault on Comedy

I've become sort of fascinated with the current digital world and it's long lasting effects. Most recently I've been thinking about how it changes the way with interact with each other.

There was a time when a human being could easily recognize when someone was being hyperbolic and joking around with them. You could easily decipher whether someone was just playfully poking at you to have fun, or actually angry with you.

And this isn't just limited to verbal cues or body language. A human being used to be able to able to convey in written form that they were just being playful. I think something is being lost though. Not people's abilities to express a joke in words, but people's abilities to recognize it without a fucking emoticon or lol afterwards.

I'm taking a stand. I don't care if I'm the last person on the planet still holding out, I will never slap an lol, or winking/tongue sticking out emoticon at the end of everything I say in an attempt to make sure people understand that I am telling a joke. YOU ARE KILLING HUMOR, PEOPLE!

Imagine a stand-up comedian, on stage, delivering a perfectly dry joke. It is a very dark joke. People aren't sure if they should laugh at first, until the comedian sticks his tongue out and gives a big wink. Now the comedy club is alright with letting out a big, hearty, laugh. "He was just joking about wanting his mother-in-law to die! It's alright! It's a joke! He doesn't actually want her to die! We can all laugh now!"

Good lord. If you want that world, you should probably just sit down to watch Two and a Half Men, shotgun in hand, and shoot yourself in the face. It's the best way for you to go. You'll go out watching something that you think is the funniest thing ever, and when we show up to clean-up the remains, we'll see what's on the TV and immediately realize it was for the best.