LIFESTYLE
NADIA LAZA COLUMNIST
EMOTIONS AND EMOTICONS: THE CRYPTIC LANGUAGE OF
W
LOVE IN A DIGITAL AGE
hat I’m about to say could be a cue to roll your eyes or if you kept reading, it would perhaps make you consider adding some more nuance to your facial expressions and to the rendering of your emotions overall: we are a few posts away from Valentine’s Day. I do not plan on building a story on the legend of Saint Valentine and I will not attempt to give a short history of what lies behind our obsession for heart-shaped memorabilia, rivers of chocolate and millions of roses. NEWS MAGAZINE
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My attention has been sparked by the phrase ”special occasion” – almost every Valentine’s Day suggestion is introduced by the phrase ”on this special occasion”. What is a special occasion? The implication is that ”special” equals ”impressive, astounding”. But does a special, lovely gesture have to be astounding or even impressive? I have often found myself unconsciously adorning and extracting a specific frame from my reality to match my internalized standards – that is how personal content takes shape online
