As the number of personal computers has continued to grow, many more of us are using electronic communications to keep in touch with one another. Most of us use email every day, and quite a few of us use an instant messaging program. For those that enjoy instant messaging, emotion icons have become part of the whole experience. But do emotion icons really add anything to the experience? Many of us think so. Here are a few of the reasons so many of us like to use emotion icons.

First, emoticons can express a great deal in very little space. Anyone who has ever looked at them, it's obvious that you can find one that will easily convey any type of emotion. This can be particularly helpful if you happen to be feeling quite a number of emotions at one time.

Instead of composing endless paragraphs that cover the wide range of feelings you are experiencing at the moment, simply select the several icons that best show the range. Create a line that starts off with surprise, then moves on to disbelief, then to fascination, and so on. The person receiving your communication will get the picture very quickly.

Next, emoticons are visually appealing. Most of them are based on the popular smiley face that seemed to be just about everywhere thirty or so years ago. The cartoon nature of the icons add a little bit of fun to emails, instant messages, and posts on message boards. Breaking up the words with something that catches the eye and brings a smile to the lips.

A third reason that emotion icons are so popular is that they are so easy to use. Even people who are intimidated by computer technology in general can become comfortable with using emotion icons in a very short period of time. You don't have to memorize keystrokes in order to create them. On most message boards and instant messaging services, as an example, you can simply point the mouse, select the emotion icon you want to insert into your communication, and click. That is all there is to it. No long procedure to go through and not much to remember at all.

As time moves on, more emotion icons have been created and added to existing programs, which has made the use of the icons even more attractive to many people. Once available mainly in yellow, today's emoticons often come in different colors. A fact which only adds to the creative ways that people think up to use the icons in messages and emails.

A great many are provided free of charge, but there are a number of companies that offer specially branded emotion icons for a small charge. They can often be purchased directly online and then loaded into your instant messaging program or into a file on your computer. Whether you go with the free icons or choose to get customized icons, you will be in great company. People continue to share their thoughts with the use of emotion icons.