Emoticons substitute the communication we lack through text conversation. When you cannot see a person's face and body language or hear their tone of voice, it can be hard to pick up subtle cues of meaning. "Communication" is more than just words. Even before emoticons were popular, as children me and my friends would draw little dog, cat, or other kinds of faces to show the tones of our written letters.
Emoticons substitute the communication we lack through text conversation. When you cannot see a person's face and body language or hear their tone of voice, it can be hard to pick up subtle cues of meaning. "Communication" is more than just words. Even before emoticons were popular, as children me and my friends would draw little dog, cat, or other kinds of faces to show the tones of our written letters.
I agree that it enhances text generally rather than being a lazy short cut.