The main purpose of modifying the original language was to speed up the rate of conversations. The second reason is that online communication is very impersonal. Nobody knows with whom they are really communicating. Even if they have talked to that person online before there is still a great deal that is unknown about that individual such as height, bodily figure, weight, facial features. Another way that language was modified was by expressing emotions through short, concise phrases.

             The methods used to show emotion through electronic communication and face to face communication are greatly different forms. Emotion is easily seen in our facial expressions, bodily movements, and tone and rate that are usually indicators of the person's true feelings. Of course, we cannot, for the most part, convey feelings this way while we are talking in chat rooms. I say for the most part because we can simply put the statement in caps lock to express that we are yelling at someone, or people often write "hahaha" to show that they are laughing. For the most part feelings are expressed in symbols. A few examples of this are if someone is happy about something they type ":-)" or ":}". I have noticed that the women are much more likely to use the ":-)" symbol than are men. Its purpose is to come across as being cute. One woman I saw used :-) after nearly every message she posted. On the other hand if someone is sad or unhappy about something they will type ":(" or :[. If a person is very sad they will type ":˜(" to show that they are crying. People often abbreviate things to show that they have found something funny. The most popular example of this is "lol" or laugh out loud. Writing "j/k" signifies that the person was making a joke and translates as just kidding. .

             The way that men and women communicate on the internet is strikingly different. The communication patterns of normal day conversation is often seen in the chat rooms as well.