Are they annoying, or friendly?
Internet age "communication experts" say they're a good way to to add energy to otherwise unexciting e-mail. And women apparently use them to be nice.
(I totally believe it. I will often insert an exclamation point into an e-mail to be friendly, especially if I'm writing another woman. I've also seen accomplished women sprinkle exclamation points all over their professional e-mail mesasges. Of course, people can get carried away and go way overboard!!!)
Shipley and Schwalbe argue that in the internet age, a dash of sensation is just what is needed. "Email is without affect," they write. "It has a dulling quality that almost necessitates kicking everything up a notch just to bring it to where it would normally be."
A woman on a bulletin board site featuring female writers says:
Women are socialized to communicate in non-threatening, maybe even self-deprecating ways; I've always thought the exclamation points and smilies and so forth are shorthand for rolling over and showing your soft pink underbelly.
On a side note -- Blogger wouldn't let me include an exclamation point in the post label below. I guess Google is not a fan.
