An electronic "haha" can make you feel like a regular comedian. The joke you forwarded to that client or customer that received the "LOL" reply can really get your humor ego growing. The "laugh out loud" acronym gave you all the affirmation you needed.

But have you ever stopped to think maybe they weren't actually laughing with you?

In person, we can all agree laughter is an easily identifiable expression. Designated by the appearance of merriment or amusement, it is safe to say it can be recognized almost immediately.

But not so fast when it comes to the Internet. Recently, social networking powerhouse Facebook released data on this not-so-universal language — showing that maybe we aren't all cracking up in unison on the World Wide Web.

According to the Facebook research, e-laughter is evolving. The site analyzed millions of comments and posts all matching some sort of laughter extension. The extensions included haha, hehe, emoji and LOL. The study cited that laughter is prevalent in the social space — with 15 percent of those they researched catching a case of the giggles.

Facebook also found the most common type of e-laugh was "haha," followed by various emoticons and then "hehe." Young people and women are all about the emojis, while men went with the "hehe." Surprisingly, the use of "LOL" is not as nearly frequent as it used to be, but most predominantly used in the southern states.

Image: Facebook

How you decide to "ROFL" in a personal setting might not mean much, but choosing your e-laugh could make all the difference professionally. Here a few simple tips on the best approach to e-chuckling in the most polite way possible.

Understand your audience

As obvious as it sounds, and the analysis demonstrates, e-snickering is based on both gender and generation. If you are working with someone outside the millennial window, the analysis suggests "hehe" should probably not be your first pick. Its perception gathers quite the varied assessment.

Sarah Larson wrote a piece back in April for the New Yorker that explained how "hehe" is "the younger person's e-laugh." But she said it can be misinterpreted as "more of an evil giggle and less of a straightforward crack up."

Larson concluded "hehe" is perceived so differently across the board, it is probably the biggest gamble in the guffaw game.

Acronyms are not universal

While you actually might be laughing out loud, it won't mean much if your LOL is directed toward our West Coast friends. The study suggests those Californians are too cool for the said acronym — it's best to stick with a standard "hehe" and "haha." Hehe is said to scream masculinity, and haha is the feel-good standard for laughter, according to Larson. And according to Facebook feedback, haha is used 51.4 percent of the time.

Don't go overboard

HAHAHAHAHA — Sure, every now and then, something can really make you LMAO, but don't look crazy. As Larson notes, "You need to be judicious with your all-caps — honest about how violently you're laughing and how sane you are."

Let's be real. Unless Amy Schumer is standing in your office, that extended "haha" is not even close to sincere. It incites images of padded rooms and crazy eyes.

As ridiculous as it sounds, crafting the right method of laughter is indeed no laughing matter. Regardless of how relaxed our culture becomes in amusement expression, it is apparent that we must crack up with caution.

As evidence suggests, real-life hilarity doesn't always equate to e-larity.