There are feelings that we really don't have a word for it and because creativity is innate in our veins, we always find a way to express what we feel. Gone are the days of being super introvert and silent treatments such as "cold war" where in 2 individuals who has misunderstanding won't speak to each other for several hours.
We have moved to a more advance of self expression and shorter way of letting friends know what your face looks like now. We are visually inclined so emoticons became a trend and almost all people who have mobile phones are aware when they see an emoticon on text messages but they can't seem to understand what it means. For people looking for answers about emoticons on what they truly mean is easy.
First, they can try to imagine the emoticon on their faces once they see it like imagining what they'll feel to show that kind of emoticon. They can also base it on their conversation which is very easy because if the conversation is going nowhere that might result to being angry then that's what the emoticon you have received means.
Second way to help yourself knowing what emoticons mean is searching through your old phones like the ones with keypads, most of these mobile phones have a collection intended for emoticons so it will be easier for you send it and understand, too. Some also makes a basic drawing of a face and combine the characters found on keyboards of personal computers or mobile phones.
Third way is asking person your speaking to directly or asking other people who knows more about emoticons to decipher it for you. This will give you more idea on how it was made like what characters are used such as colons, semicolons and others; when can you use it and if you can play around with it like creating other emoticons.
The easiest way to search for emoticons and what it means is by searching through internet. Just copy the emoticon on the website where you can search for it then it will show what is for. With all the information in the internet now, it will be most impossible if you can't find any information with what you are searching for.
Having the knowledge about these emoticons can lessen misunderstanding or add spice on your conversation. It also gives you the assurance that what the person you are speaking to through text messages is matching to her or his facial expressions.
Do you think emoticons are advance?
Wait until you see emojis which are for smart phones. Emojis are small faces with yellow color and has different expressions, too, same as the emoticons which may be moving or not but emoticons gives a different nostalgic feeling when we are using this and you may use it, too, in writing letters because it is easy to draw comparing to emojis. Therefore, making emoticons applicable to any informal handwritten messages may it be letters or greeting cards.