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Emojis are revolutionising our digital communication

A few weeks ago, a friend and I had an amusing conversation on WhatsApp. We were laughing about a funny situation we had experienced. As we chatted, I realised that the words alone were not enough to really express my emotions to my friend. A laughing face with happy tears and a thumbs up were exactly what was missing. That was when I noticed how important emojis have become in our digital relationships, adding a whole new dimension to them.

Our favourite symbols

The popularity of emojis can vary by platform and region, but here are the top ten most popular around the world:

😂 – the ‘face with tears of joy’ representing laughter

❤️ – the ‘red heart’ for love and affection

😍 – the ‘smiley face with heart-shaped eyes’ for showing affection or delight

🤣 – the ‘rolling on the floor laughing’ for even louder laughter

😊 – the ‘smiley face with smiling eyes’ for contentment, happiness or gratitude

🙏 – the ‘praying hands’ as a sign of gratitude or prayer

💕 – the ‘two hearts’ symbolising a romantic atmospher

😭 – the ‘loudly crying face’ for overwhelming emotions

😘 – the ‘face blowing a kiss’ as a farewell kiss or expression of love

👍 – the ‘thumbs up’ to show approval or appreciation

These emojis are just a small sample of the wide world of symbolism that influences our digital communication. But where do emojis originally come from, and what made them so popular around the world? 

Emojis

The origins date back to the 1990s, when Japanese mobile phone companies began developing simple symbols to express feelings and moods in text messages. The term ‘emoji’ is Japanese and means ‘pictograph’. Back then, communication had to make do without additional visuals, and the ability to show emotion in writing was limited to the words themselves.
The emojis had their breakthrough in 1999, when the leading Japanese mobile phone provider included an emoji function called ‘i-mode’ into its phones. These first emojis were simple pixelated images including a smiley face, a sad expression and a heart symbol.

As smartphones and instant-messaging services became more common, the symbols that originated in Japan similarly gained in popularity across the world. In 2010, emojis were included in the Unicode Standard, which meant they could be shown in a consistent way across a range of operating systems and devices. This helped establish a wide acceptance for the use of emojis in global digital communication.

The emoji controversy – simplifying or enriching?

As with any new form of communication, the opinions about the emoji differ. Some people appreciate the ability to visually express emotions in a quick and simple way. They see emojis as a useful addition to plain text, avoiding misunderstandings and making communication livelier. However, others consider emojis an impoverishment of language, arguing that they encourage a kind of laziness in our interactions, where the need for real words is replaced by simple symbols. There is also debate about cultural representation in emoji symbols, as well as the lack of diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity and profession. Despite these controversial views, it is hard to imagine our communication without them.

communication

The culture of emojis

A smiley face, heart icon or thumbs up usually have a similar meaning and effect, regardless of the recipient’s native language. Therefore, emojis not only allow us to express feelings and emotions that might be lost in text alone, but they also provide a common ground for digital intercultural communication. But be careful! Emojis don’t always have the same meaning in different cultures, and despite being well received in one culture, it may not be in another. Here are some examples:

  • The thumbs-up symbol is seen as a sign of approval and positive feedback in Western countries, but is considered offensive in some Asian countries.
  • The ‘praying hands’ emoji is an expression of gratitude or pleading in Western countries, but usually means a greeting in India.
  • A waving hand, often used as a greeting in the West, might indicate a friendship break-up in China.

Emoji developers take these cultural differences into account and try to adapt the symbolism accordingly to avoid misunderstandings and promote universal communication.

Emojis – the language of the digital age

Emojis have undoubtedly revolutionised the way we communicate with each other. They play an increasingly important role in our digital world by making our communication more lively, nuanced and fun. They allow us to express feelings and emotions in a direct and simple way that would often be lost in plain text. By regularly updating and expanding our emoji libraries, we can communicate through messages with even greater precision and detail. Decisions about which new emojis to include and their general meaning are made by the Unicode Consortium, a non-profit organisation where many technology companies are members. From their humble beginnings in the 1990s to their cultural significance today, emojis have become an integral part of our digital culture.

Natalie Bröning
„An intern at Apostroph Germany, Natalie is a language enthusiast through and through. Currently a high-school student, her favourite subjects are German, English and Chemistry. When she isn’t busy reading, writing and translating as part of her internship, she enjoys playing the violin, collecting books and cuddling with her cats.“
Natalie Bröning ¡ Intern at Apostroph Germany

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