The Power of Emoji

Emoji, the New Universal Language?

Emoji is today, incontrovertible, the world’s first truly universal form of communication😉 Because everyone, no matter what tongue they speak or country they live in, can understand a 😊 or a ❤️.

They add levity, emotional expression, and personality. And it is a personality that is the essence of communication. They enable us to express ourselves in our digital lives better and allow us to keep friends and make new ones🤝. They are more than just happy or sad faces. It has real communicative value and represents an essential step in making our text speak fit for purpose in our digital lives.

Emoji transcend language; they are also able to be more generic and accessible to anyone who can “see,” even if they can’t read or write. In any case, we’re all speaking Emoji now🤗.

The History of Emoji

　
　

Emoji was created in 1999 by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita. Kurita worked on the development team for mobile internet platform from Japan’s primary mobile carrier, DOCOMO🇯🇵.

The first emoji was designed on a twelve-by-twelve-pixel grid, the emoji—a portmanteau of the Japanese words e, or “picture,” and Moji, or “character”—enhanced the visual interface for NTT DOCOMO’s devices and facilitated the developing practice of text messaging and mobile email📱.

The use of emojis became popular in Japan, and eventually spread to other countries. In 2010, Apple added an emoji keyboard to its iOS operating system, making it easier for users to access and use emojis on their iPhones and iPads🍎. Since then, emojis have become a ubiquitous part of digital communication, used to express emotion, convey humor, and even replace entire phrases or sentences.

The Unicode Consortium added a set of emojis to the Unicode Standard in 2015, making it possible for emojis to be displayed consistently across different devices and operating systems.

Today, there are thousands of different emojis available, representing a wide range of emotions, objects, and concepts. They show how new forms of communication can evolve and become an integral part of our daily lives😁.

How many emojis are there?




As the chart shows, in 2010, the number of emoji went up when Apple added an emoji keyboard to its iOS operating system. In 2015, the Unicode Consortium added emojis to the Unicode Standard, raising the number even more. In 2022, the total number of emojis reached 3,664.

Age of users

Emojis most often used with...

The most used emoji when we talk about how we feel

This chart shows which emojis are used the most for each of the 9 emotions analyzed.


I'm feeling...	#1	#2	#3
Happy	😭	🥺	❤️
Excited	😭	🥺	😍
Sad	😭	🥺	😔
Scared	😭	😂	🥺
Angry	😡	😭	😂
Stressed	😭	😂	😩
Annoyed	😭	😂	🙄
Anxious	😭	🥺	😂
Relaxed	😂	😌	😭
(Brandwatch)

The loudly crying face and the face with tears of joy emoji are so versatile. One emoji has many uses.

Reason for using emojis

Emoji Facts

This is a high number and suggests that emojis are a widely accepted and commonly used form of communication.

Emojis have become integral to our digital conversations, allowing us to convey emotions and express ourselves in ways that text alone cannot. People think emojis can convey tone and emotional reactions better than words alone. As we continue to communicate more online, emojis will likely continue to evolve and play a significant role in how we express ourselves and connect with others.

References