In a study published Thursday, Facebook said it had combed through posts and comments during the last week of May 2015 and found that 15 percent of people included laughter at least once in their posts and comments that week. It also analyzed² the types of laughter used by people across demographics and noticed some big differences among the laughter-associated words people prefer. One of the big takeaways here: The lol is sooooooo over.

 

Each laughter word stem includes a wide range of laughter types, the study noted³. Hahas, for example, include "the polite haha to a deranged⁴ hahahahahahaha."

 

Hahas are the most popular type of laughter, while lol is the least.

 

More than 50 percent of laughers use hahas, followed by emojis (33.7 percent), hehes (13.1 percent) and lols (1.9 percent). Moreover, 52 percent of people use strictly⁵ one laughter type, while about 20 percent use two different types.

 

Laughers on the West Coast tend more toward hahas and hehes, while those on the East Coast tend to use emojis. Facebook created heat maps for the types of laughter by state. The darker the color is on the map below, the more the laughter word stem is used.

 

Laughter varies by city, too: "People in Chicago and New York prefer emojis, while Seattle and San Francisco prefer hahas," the study noted.

 

Whatever way you choose to communicate your laughter, keep doing it: A recent study published in the scientific journal Human Nature found that laughter makes people feel more comfortable and more likely to open up in conversation.

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