Kenyan media personality Natalie Githinji has publicly appealed to her social media followers specifically millennials, to change the way they react online. The TV host, who presents the NTV show Beatz n Buzz, is tired of seeing text-based laughs like ‘hahaa’ and ‘lol’.
She took to her Instagram stories to express her frustration, arguing that text replies often sound disingenuous or fake.
In a post written in a mix of English and Swahili, Natalie Githinji urged her audience to switch from typing out their laughter to using the graphical options available.
She wants people to use actual laughing emojis instead of typing “hahaa.”
She finds text responses like ‘lol’ and ‘jeez’ insincere.
The presenter questioned if people who type their laughter are truly amused.
Githinji feels that typing ‘hahaa’ often comes across as a mere formality or a way to politely end a conversation, even when the person isn’t actually laughing.
“Sounds fake to me…ile kicheko ya kumaliza story ama kucheka tu although kitu haikua funny…just to save the person from embarrassment…”
For the presenter, the solution is simple and readily available, use the emojis that were created for this exact purpose.
Githinji insists that the wide variety of laughing and expressive emojis are there to allow people to convey their true emotions clearly.
“Like, just use the EMOJIS! That’s why ziko hapo….to express your emotions….aty ‘lol’ ‘hahaa’ ‘jeez'”
The plea is a light-hearted yet firm call for online communication to be more authentic and less reliant on what she perceives as an outdated and fake way of expressing amusement.
