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How have emojis transformed the ways we communicate?
Emoticons have been around since 1982, but in recent years they have only entered mass communication as social media has grown and emoticons have reached phone keyboards. There are now 6 billion emoticons sent every day, and according to Swyft Media, 74% of people in the US regularly use stickers, or emoticons in their online communications, sending an average of 96 emoticons or stickers per day. This growing spread of emojis has a lot to do with the way people communicate more and more digital.
Emoticons, those digital images that people send to each other through text messages and social media, reflect the changing nature of communication for both individuals and companies. They say a picture is worth a thousand words … and today’s generation uses GIFs and emoticons on a daily basis, which definitely affects the way we communicate on the Internet and through text messages. In fact, even though it’s not even a word, the Oxford Dictionary capped emoji with the word of 2015, which gives insight into the impact of these little images.
Research shows that four out of five people between the ages of 18 and 65 use emoticons regularly, and 72% of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 are more likely to express emotions with emoticons than with words. It goes without saying that emojis have a lot of potential as they are full of meaning; but they are also great for enriching our communication with people, especially with loved ones, and for expressing our positive emotions, especially when we cannot do it personally. For better or worse, emojis are certainly an important part of everyday written conversation, and that won’t change anytime soon. The use of emoticons is seen more as a creative form of language: when present in text messages, these symbols help us express ourselves better and more creatively, as a compliment, not a substitute.
Therefore, emoji solve the problem of not being able to convey emotions and gestures by allowing people to communicate…
