From smiley faces to hamburgers to sloths, emojis have taken over the way we communicate. By the end of 2024, there were a whopping 3,790 emojis to choose from! But as emojis grow more common, some wonder: Are they accurate? Do emojis add emotional color to our messages, or do they bring more confusion?
For now, Americans lean toward the former. In a 2022 survey, 5,000 U.S. emoji users were asked about their thoughts and experiences using emojis. Nine out of 10 agreed that emojis make it easier for them to express themselves. About 73 percent believed people who use emojis are “funnier, friendlier, and cooler” than those who don’t! Not only that, 92 percent thought emojis were helpful when communicating with people who speak different languages. “Even if I can’t express my thoughts well in English, I can still let the other person know how I feel with an emotion emoji,” says Andy Lee, a ninth-grader from South Korea.
In the past decade or so, emojis have evolved to feature more diverse skin colors and types of people. Plus, hundreds of emojis for animals, objects, and emotions we encounter daily have hit our keyboards. How have emojis affected the way you communicate?