Emoticons are a very new term in our society. We didn't have them when I was growing up, of course we didn't have PC's in our homes either! I didn't even know that is what they were called until I heard a trivia question on them on Cash Cab. I love to use emoticons in my personal e-mails because they are fun and give the reader a visual of the emotion you are expressing at the time. I plan to use the emoticon that smiles and has a rose in its hand to send an e-mail to my Mom for Mother's Day.