In everyday communication, intonation and body language play a major role in how in a message is received. With the rise of digital communication, entire populations are moving away from the face-to-face interaction that has dominated the planet since day 1. Impersonal messages consisting of 0's and 1's are now commonplace in a person's personal, social, and professional life. These messages lack the personal feel that creates deep, long-lasting relationships.
Emoticons ( :), :D, :(, :P, :^), ;)) have gained popularity as a means to regain that personal touch in social media, text messages, and email. They are predominantly used by teenage girls to show they are happy, sad, joking, or flirting. With this being the case, it became obvious to ask the question, "Is a man that uses emoticons in digital communication doing so at the expense of his masculinity?"
Yes.