Ellie Jocson, a 25-year-old bank analyst in Manila, uses IJBOL instead of LOL, because she said it more accurately reflected what happened “behind the screen” while scrolling through social media.

LOL was first coined on a BBS called Viewline in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in the early-to-mid-80s. A friend of mine who went by Sprout (and I believe he still does) had said something so funny in ...