Oh, technology. You never fail to create new ways to make basic human actions even easier to express. For instance, instead of typing three simple words to indicate surprise, we all just say “OMG”. I’m not complaining about this new trend in streamlined expression, (although I’m sure many people are, as per my previous article on hipsters), I am actually amused by it. One particular new trend of this type that I cannot get enough of is the use of emojis. For those of you who either don’t own smartphones or are still trying to figure out how to turn on your computers, an emoji is a small picture or ideogram that is mainly used in texting in order to quickly encapsulate a certain emotion or action. There are the classics like
,
, and
, and then there are the newer and more universal:
Along with much of the technology that we use today, emojis were invented quite recently. Initially introduced in Japan in 1999, the word “emoji” literally means picture(e) character(moji) and were used exactly the same way as they are today. At first, emojis were only found on Japanese cell phones, but they quickly spread around the world. Flash forward to 2009, where Google is allowing users to send emojis with their emails, and the word itself is universal; virtually everybody uses and/or knows what emojis are. Since then, Apple and Android have emojis available on their mobile devices, making entirely new forms of conversation possible and popular. Nowadays, teens tend to type exclusively in emojis, and they are extremely successful at conveying their points.
There are approximately seven-hundred emojis on the standard emoji keyboard, so people are bound to have distinctive favorites. In a survey taken by eighty teenagers, most of them said that their favorite emoji was the laughing-crying face and the one-hundred points emoji.
Of course, when people get one good thing, they have to have more and the appetite for new emojis grows by the day. In my survey, I asked if any new emojis should be added, and some of the most popular requests were for people of color emojis, and middle finger emojis.
Luckily, Apple has announced that they will add new emojis to their keyboard, which basically ensures that every other emoji platform will include them as well. Stay hopeful, and keep using your…
Words images by TJ Kanaley
Images by reddit.com, and emoji.ink
