Question

Sometimes it's hard for college students to use new forms of technology to communicate with their parents or grandparents. it's very convenient to be able to use an instant message to ask family members a quick question, but they might not know the difference between :-d (laughing) and >:o (yelling), which could lead to serious miscommunication. the problem is that older people may not know the same __________ as younger people.

Answer 1

The answer to the blank space is signs and symbols.

Sign and symbols here refer to distinct sociological concepts. Sign is defined as a form of language used by group of people. Signs are usually universally understood by most people, which in this example might come in the form of telephone sign, which both the grandparents and the young grandchildren perceive the same way – as something related to the telephone. While symbols are perceived differently be people from different cultures, or even generations – such as the emoticons used by the grandchildren, which the grandparents do not perceive the same way.