Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Haha and hehe make social media comeback

LOL no longer means laughter on social media, with most people preferring to use haha or hehe and emojis to denote amusement, a Facebook survey has found.

When it comes to expressions of laughter on social media, it seems the humble acronym LOL - "laugh out loud" - is laughing no more.

Facebook examined a week's worth of comments to its social network to find out how people are laughing on the internet.

The results make sobering reading for lovers of LOL - just 1.9 per cent of posts contained the acronym.

Instead people are resorting to emojis, the colourful smiley faces of text language, and "hehe".

But leading the way by far in the laughter stakes is the old-fashioned "haha".

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

About 51.4 per cent of comments that contained expressions of laughter used haha, followed by 33.7 per cent employing emojis, and 12.7 per cent using hehe.

Fewer than 2 per cent of comments used LOL - suggesting that the acronym is no longer feeling lots of love, as Prime Minister David Cameron famously thought when he signed off text messages with it to newspaper editor Rebekah Brooks.

Both men and women were found to like their hahas and emojis, followed by hehes and then LOLs. Hahas and hehes were preferred by men, Facebook said, while emojis were dominated by women, who also marginally preferred LOL.

The research also found that emojis were used by a slightly younger audience, and that LOL use had the highest median age and remained in use longer as users got older.

Facebook gave few clues as to why LOL is losing its stranglehold over our emotions, but it seems that the traditional haha is having the last laugh.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world