Comment by mercer

On a small scale I do think we have been developing new ways of expressing and communicating though. Smileys to me are a good example of this, but you can even include the 'x is typing a message' and 'read at <time>'.

While there is no universal consensus on what exactly this kind of 'information' means, within specific groups (and ages) they can convey a lot.

I've been chatting since I was fifteen or so, and to me and many people I chat with, a particular smiley, or the 'is typing' message can have a lot of meaning. I even find myself actively 'manipulating' this information at times: I might intentional start and stop typing at times as an analogue to the face-to-face act of saying 'hmm', looking away thoughtfully and not answering immediately.

I suspect all this meaning encoded in non-text things (practically speaking) is even more common among younger people.