"lol"ing and shame

ok so this is gunna end up being a rant but for the past month its been on my mind. I recently started up a comedy showcase at school where I bring five of Cincinnatis local comedians and have do 10 min of material and I open the show with 5 mins myself before introducing the first comic. so far I've only done one show and the second ones tomorrow night, but the first show wasnt the greatest. I mean people laughed but it was hit or miss and even when they hit the laughter would die down pretty quickly. It wasnt really a terrible show but it wasnt the best. anyways the point im trying to make is that people can spend a whole day texting their friends and loling in almost every text but then when a comedian comes and tells a joke you can sit there and not laugh and make them feel like the most vulnerable person alive.

example text convo:

"hey man where you wanna eat?"

"idk lol"

seriously conversations like this take place every second through text messages and yet if you were to seriously break that conversation up you would find no humor in it at all. I mean not only is it not funny but its more of a problem that you have to deal with than it is a joke. The point of that question was to get a location of where to eat and now that you dont know, your just facing the problem of not having a place to eat.

I mean I understand that some people put lol in text to come off as playful so the reciever doesnt think they're upset or anything but still i think a smiley face would suffice, as well as give you an extra charector to use in the text.

anyways, I dont know guess its the same with comedy but if a person goes out of their way to come and try to make you laugh then the least you can do is support the them and at least act like your enjoying it. but not only that but in my 4 years of doing stand up ive had friends say jokingly mind you that im not funny or make comments like "hey you funny yet?" and really this is ok every once in a while because i know their joking but over time all that can add up and really get to a person. I just dont think its cool to ever tell anybody they're not funny, comedian or not, because if someone goes out of thier way to make you laugh or smile and wants to share their imput on it you should at least take interest in it and tell them good job or something after the show. and im not just talking about myself here, I've heard people say other people just came off as stupid or untalented, when talent really has nothing to do with it.

most people do stand up because they enjoy doing it, or to network, or just make friends, or because they like to make people laugh and smile. Anybody can know how that feels after you make someone laugh or smile. and doing stand up you get to do that to a room full of people all at once, and the high you get from that is better than anything i've ever felt personally.

its ok to give people pointers and critique comics on thier material but to sit there and not laugh at all or to at least smile (because i do realize that there are some people who do replace lol with the smiley face because that may be thier way of showing thier enjoyment.) but never just sit there and make a person feel stranded or stupid for trying to bring you thier form of enjoyment, and that goes for anything not just comedy.