Creative emoticons, cute graphics and catch-all words or acronyms litter, if not dominate, often curt messages in mobile social circles (Going Nuts Over Emojis, Life, Aug 16).

Fun as this brand of "economy of words"may seem, how will the prevalence of this trend contribute to the growth of one's vocabulary, which has already been in decline before the emergence of this stunted lingo?

It would not surprise me if many just brush off this concern as trivial with an eye-roll emoji.

Ooi Mun Kong