笑？ (Kanji-only communication).

While Googling lyrics I noticed that someone had included within a sentence a "(笑)"—just the kanji for laugh, without okurigana. Is that equivalent to our saying, eg, (ha ha)? I've often wondered whether Japanese people sometimes communicate just with kanji, like with friends over a cell phone. I don't see why you couldn't ask someone whether they were coming by just texting a "来?", or ask if someone wants to get something to eat by texting "食?", or say it's a beautiful day by texting "晴" or "晴ね".