Does anyone remember laughter?

[ironduck]

In my opinion, laugh tracks and the persistence of LOL, LOL, LOL (ad nauseam) is making people forget how to genuinely and openly laugh for themselves.

Nothing wrong with typing lol to signify you're laughing if you actually are laughing

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I don't have any social skills.

 

[ironduck]

I don't have any social skills.

In that case I would just have to get to know you by other means to feel comfortable. Knowing in advance why you don't smile would be the most important bit.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

What I don't get is the way so many people on the 'Net emphasize that something has made them laugh out loud.

How else is a person supposed to laugh?

When I type LOL I dont think for one minute that anyone actually believes Im going 'HARHARHAR!!' out loud like a mental patient. Its just a way of indicating humor, isnt it?

I am nearly always alone when I watch TV (a cat might be in the room with me). If something funny happens, I laugh. Out loud. It might rate a chuckle, a giggle, or it might be something so incredibly funny that I laugh until I cry, have trouble breathing, and actually hurt from laughing so hard. Why should I not fully enjoy -- and express my enjoyment -- of humor just because I am not in the same room with another human?

Why not indeed? Go for it! Swing from the chandelier if you want

I also clap when something is on TV that I think rates applause. It might be a joke (in which case I am also laughing), or a musical performance, or a particularly clever answer to a question (ie. in interviews, or on Jeopardy!).

Ok, if youre into it, why not?

Oh, and I also laugh if I read something funny in a book, newspaper, or online. Out loud. And unashamedly.

Hearing somebody laughing alone in a room all the time would be pretty scary, but hey man, follow your bliss

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Why not indeed? Go for it! Swing from the chandelier if you want

Hearing somebody laughing alone in a room all the time would be pretty scary, but hey man, follow your bliss

I can't swing from the chandelier. I don't have one.

I don't laugh alone in a room all the time -- just when something is funny enough to make me laugh. And if my cat is in the room with me, I'm not alone. And if you're close enough to hear me laughing, I'm also not alone.

You give applause to your TV?

That's another pet peeve, people who clap at a film theatre; it's not as if Ian McKellen is there and can hear you...

I don't applaud my TV. I applaud the performers. The fact that they can't see or hear me is irrelevant. It's like guys who whoop and holler when they watch sports on TV; the players can't see or hear the home audience, but the home audience still often cheers them on.

By the way, right now I'm watching "The Red Green Show." I'm the only woman I know who actually understands and appreciates most of the humor on that program (my dad had to explain some of it to me, though). And the sketch they just did had me giggling.

Is anyone creeped out yet?

 

[ironduck]

Nah, it's nice to see someone here who doesn't have a need to be oh-so-ironic-and-above-it-all

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I can't swing from the chandelier. I don't have one.

I don't laugh alone in a room all the time -- just when something is funny enough to make me laugh. And if my cat is in the room with me, I'm not alone. And if you're close enough to hear me laughing, I'm also not alone.

If cats could talk, Id either be in jail, or on the cover of Time magazine.

By the way, right now I'm watching "The Red Green Show." I'm the only woman I know who actually understands and appreciates most of the humor on that program (my dad had to explain some of it to me, though). And the sketch they just did had me giggling.

Is anyone creeped out yet?

Wait a minute, youre a woman? Creeped out? Dont be silly, hey you didnt think I was serious about all that 'creepy to laugh alone' stuff, did you? Why Ive never heard of anything more normal!

 

[El_Machinae]

It's like guys who whoop and holler when they watch sports on TV; the players can't see or hear the home audience

It's a well-established fact that if we didn't yell at our TVs when watching sport - our teams would lose

 

[History_Buff]

You give applause to your TV?

That's another pet peeve, people who clap at a film theatre; it's not as if Ian McKellen is there and can hear you...

I know exactly what you mean. Some of his lines really did deserve the laughter they got.

And my favorite kind of comedic reaction is what Conan O'Brian tends to get: outrage, followed by polite clapping, followed again by riotous laughter.