在后疫情时代（post-pandemic era），越来越多的工作和学习移到了线上。这种线上的沟通听不见声音，也看不见表情，有时便难免造成一些误会。

比如说，我们在线上工作时使用很正式的词语并避免各种表情包，希望给对方留下专业（professional）的印象，却收到了“看你的消息的时候，我会觉得你在生气”的评价。

图源：The Atlantic

研究表明，面对面交流中60%-80%的信息是非语言的，比如语速、停顿、手势和语调。但是在线上的文字沟通中，我们无法接收到非语言的线索，因此，线上沟通中更容易出现误解。

Research shows that roughly 60% to 80% of our face-to-face communication is non-verbal language, such as the pacing, pauses, gestures and tone. All of these cues bring energy and emotional nuance to our message.

因为看不见这些非语言信息，在文字交流中，标点符号就成了很多人判断对方情绪的线索。而不同年龄段的人又对这些标点符号有着不同的理解。今日美国（USA Today）就对这一信息作了梳理。

省略号 ellipsis

例子：听起来不错…

Example: Sounds good…

年长者的解读：点点点可能意味着新想法的出现，没有负面的含义。

To older texters: The dot-dot-dot can mean an indication of a new idea, with no negative connotation.

年轻人的解读：省略号意味着言外之意。

To younger texters: The ellipsis can be used to convey that there's something left unsaid.

出现不同解读的原因：在网上多发一条消息又不收费。所以在开始阐述新想法的时候，年轻人更倾向于发送新的消息。他们使用省略号只是为了给信息加上额外含义。

Explanation of difference: Computer space is cheap. So to begin a new idea, a younger person will likely begin a new message. They'll use the ellipsis only to add a meaning to their message.

句号 period

例子：听起来不错。

Example: Sounds good.

年长者的解读：一句话自然地结束了。

To older texters: This is the natural way to end a sentence.

年轻人的解读：句号加强了负面的含义，尤其是这种单独出现的短句子。

To younger texters: A period reinforces a negative connotation to a sentence, particularly with short sentences that stand alone.

出现不同解读的原因：例子中的句号可能表达出了与文字本意完全相反的含义，因为人在读出一个以句号为结尾的句子时，声音会变得更沉。下降的语调似乎破坏了句子的意思，尤其是收到信息的人是个年轻人。

Explanation of difference: The period in the example could indicate the opposite of what the words literally mean, because one's voice typically goes down when reading a sentence that ends in a period. The falling intonation seems to undermine it, especially for a younger reader.

感叹号 exclamation mark/point

例子：听起来不错！

Example: Sounds good!

年长者的解读：像在大喊大叫。

To older texters: This can read like yelling.

年轻人的的解读：感叹号可以是一种表达礼貌的方式。

To younger texters: An exclamation point might feel like a tool indicating politeness.

出现不同解读的原因：自2000年以来，感叹号就被当作“礼貌标记”来使用。然而，最近很多年轻人都说他们在工作中不被允许使用感叹号，因为他们的老板认为感叹号表达了攻击性。

Explanation of difference: Exclamation points have been used as "a politeness marker" since the early 2000s. However, recently, there are young people who say they're not allowed to use the exclamation mark at work because their employers perceive it as aggressive.

“单独使用的感叹号不是作为强度符号使用，而是一种表达真诚的符号”，研究网络语言的语言学家Gretchen McCulloch说。“如果我以 ‘谢谢！’结束一篇邮件，我不是在大喊或者在特别表达热情。我只是在表达我真挚的谢意，而且我说的时候带着一点礼节性的微笑”。

"The single exclamation mark is being used not as an intensity marker, but as a sincerity marker," says Gretchen McCulloch, a linguist who studies online communication. "If I end an email with 'Thanks!', I'm not shouting or being particularly enthusiastic; I'm just trying to convey that I'm sincerely thankful, and I'm saying it with a bit of a social smile."

McCulloch发布了一个投票：“要表达真挚的热情，我需要用多少感叹号呢”？在收到八百多票后，结论是三个。McCulloch也发布了一些后续投票。结果的分布看起来不太一样，但是大多数人都认为一个不够。

McCulloch ran a Twitter poll asking: "If I wanted to convey genuine enthusiasm to you, how many exclamation marks would I need?" After nearly 800 votes, the winner was three. McCulloch did a couple follow-up polls, too. The spread looked a little different for each, but in both cases, most people thought one wasn't enough.

表情符号 emoji

意大利都灵大学的一项研究表明，一些特定的表情符号与五大人格特质中的三个——情绪稳定性、外向性和随和性——显著相关。也就是说，使用特定的表情符号或者其他有相似含义的表情包可以展现出特定的性格特征。

Results indicated some emoji are significantly related with three of the Big-Five personality traits - emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness.

显得随和的表情符号：