June 30, 2008
-
Did the smiley finally flip?
Whenever I type out a smiley, it’s eyes to the left, smile to the right.
But with people younger than I am, I usually see the smiley the other way around when it’s typed.(:
Said smiley also sometimes grows longer eyes:
(=
When did this happen?!
If you are under the age of 22 (I turn 23 soon; omg), please answer – how did the smiley flip? was it of its own volition? are there any plans to flip upside down at some point?
Comments (52)
I’m meeting your criteria, but I’m thinking : – ) is the only real smilie-way.
(just typed it so “long” because otherwise Xanga would imagify it.)
Maybe the people who do that are from Europe, where they drive on the other side of the road.
Or maybe they’re from Australia, where the toilet flushes the other way around.
well, actually, the smiley is currently rolling down a hill… VERY SLOWLY. It started off this way
and then it went right side up (which our computers don’t have the graphical capability to depict) and now it is like this 
Since it is rolling down the hill (a very long hill I presume) it will likely be back to how you remember it
… truth be told, i too thought it was weird when people started typing it like this (: it confused me and I often mistook it for a frowning face.
This happened when plastic surgery started gaining popularity.
My experience has been that people do it to be indie, or sometimes they will do it with their close friends/SOs to express some sort of “we have a special bond because our smileys are backwards” sentiment.
I think there are high schoolers that just do it willy-nilly, though, and I am far from sufficiently informed on the doings of high schoolers these days to be capable of explaining this.
I dunno. It’s not my fault. I promise!!
: )
Since I first signed on to the internet, way back when, I have always made my smilies as so: =) and thought all others were just completely wrong.
And I still sign my name as so: Jade =)
I WILL NOT CHANGE, don’t ask me to.
@yourheadispunk - i can’t believe you’ve stuck with the same one for so long! i was really into the U with umlauts for a while – ΓΌ
i dont even use the smiley.. i prefer… this guy…. :0P
I’ve never seen anybody use (: except for me, and that’s just because I like it, seems more friendly to me (:
maybe they’re jewish or chinese so they read right to left.
Maybe it’s like coke, pop, soda, or cola? People from different internet cultures use different versions…. i was always rather partial to the = l (have a day) face.
it happened when they started it!
I am in high school, and have never seen smileys backwards like that. Although there was a time when all my friends made their smileys like this :]
Ok, so first you put down the parenthesis
(
and then you add the eyes
(:
the longer eyes on the smiley
(=
are only the equal sign. They are on the corner of your keyboard.
Ok, now do you get it?
Pay me with eprops if you feel up to it.
Wasn’t my reply so explanetory. You can thank me later
No, seriously.
I noticed this too!!! what’s with the backwards smiley!??!
I think it happened the same day they decided to flip around the L’s in “LOL”.
I defy your smiley-direction and substitute my own!
I suspect that it’s because they don’t want the smilies to automatically be turned into images. That’s my best guess anyway.
I’m 19 and I’ve always used
Very rarely I’ll use =)
And vairiations.
;P ect.
i figure I’m looking in a binder or a booklet. and if you have to turn the binder so the rings are on top, the smiley needs to be right side up. hence,
isn’t that clear to everyone?
omg talk about showing your age
i’m under 22 and i still use
sometimes : ) and when dots are too small i use =)
i use : ) with the space in the middle so that AIM won’t turn it into some freaky looking face
This is the only way that makes sense to me!
This way just confuses me!!! (:
JoJo is discombobulated! =:O
i started doing that like six or seven years ago to be cool and rebellious because nobody else i talked to did it that way, and i had never seen it anywhere else before… it’s finally caught on (sort of… still don’t see it often) but i doubt it was because of me haha
Da-na
(:
Da-na
(:
Da-na da-na
(:
hahaha
@fullmetalbunny - hahaha
Da-na
(:
i’ve always done it like this:
i hate it when people do it like this (:
it looks like a person with a unibrow to me!
@awth44 - JoJo is freaking out now!!!!
*_O
…I like the right-side-up smilies too. ^_^ Even though they are kind of limited. T_T
JoJo has talking about herself in the third person. Darn Facebook statuses.
=:’(
@fullmetalbunny - hahaha The Attack of the Backward Smilies!
Yeah, I like ‘im too.
O_o
-_-
0_0
X_X
$_$
times-a-changing. gotta keep up with the younguns.
i do mine like this
i’ve seen facebook groups protesting (: that way.
but i don’t care which way you put it…. XD is not a smiley. it’s a dead person.
it should be ~XP
(the squiggly is a stink line, because it’s dead)
dude man it’s all about the square backets!
=]
I’m 17 and I honestly had no idea this was happening..
We in the Asian culture may do it more in the most direct way: ^-^ >v<
and so forth.
Me? I’m still doing =D and =) ‘s.. Don’t worry, we’re with you. XD
The right side up smileys kill me. (And I think your sister might remember why.)
That’s kind of strange. I never noticed that before. Maybe it’s for no other reason than people being tired of
.
PS I love Nick Hornby!
It’s a massive conspiracy perpetrated by the same people who added the Z to OMG. Once there is mass confusion due to backwards smileys and effed up abbreviations, they’re going to make their move for world domination.
i type it this way =)
Hm. I’m 22, soon to be 23 and been on some form off internet or bbs as long as I can remember. I’ve seen a handful of flipped smilies, but it’s very rare.
I typically do mine :] or =]
A favorite right now is ^-^
But you’re right, it seems the kids even younger than I have flipped it..
[:
I liked the jewish or chinese theory, cute. I type them like my teen does. She is eighteen : )
bc doing anything out of the ordinary is awesome & unique!
Hmm..great question…maybe a left hand – right handed thing..no….you think it has to do with age..interesting…obviously one of the great mysteries of life…..will have to ponder it
hugs, Lee 
hmmm.
but then turned to =)
I used to use
it looks cuter, no?
I think people flipped it to (: so that IMs wouldn’t turn it into the big yellow face.
I like the big yellow face, though
I used to do
and then I got bored of that and started doing (:
one day on myspace i rembemer some girl doing it, and then i realized she wasnt the only one, but i soon got into doing it and i love it [:
if everyone just stopped smiling at each other over the internet, then we wouldn’t have this problem. sheesh!
I really never noticed that, but you are right. I however still use the normal. lol.
@Lithium98 - Lol.. that’s hilarious.
i totally missed the flip…and im only 20!