EXPLORE THE HISTORY
OF EMOJIS

ORIGIN OF EMOJI'S

For communication to happen over the internet, there are multiple sacrifices we have to make. Through digital communication, we no longer have the face-to-face connection we once had. We immediately miss out on much of the nonverbal communication in our daily lives we take for granted. The tone that we speak with, the way our body and face move with our words, even the way we decide to physically present ourselves hold no merit in the world of digital communication. When compared to the thousands of years we have spent normally communicating, it starts to raise the question of how we survive in this new environment of connection. One of the earliest examples of us finding new tools to assist us was Scott Fahlman, known for the first recorded use of emoticons. At this point, emoticons we’re just simple representations of faces using ASCII characters, but the purpose of these emoticons would become the backbone of the emojis we know today. Fahlman wrote through email

“ I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:
:-)
Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use:
:-( “

EMOJI'S IN CULTURE

Aside from their original design, emojis derive additional meaning from context, habit and culture. But culture is not just a single force that has control over how the entire world views any single icon. Emojis very often change meaning or purpose when its placed into different settings, used to different cultures, or groups of people.

When considered as their own language, it would make sense that age or gender could change the way, or types of emojis used in conversation. This is similar to how different languages and ways of speaking shift over time and between generations. Susan C. Herring conducted a study, pulling information from an online survey. In their data set, when asked to describe the purpose of the emoji in a sentence, the group of those over 30 were had a much higher likelihood of choosing the “I don’t know” option. Additionally, those over 50 were much more likely to read emojis as more of a literal action, as if that face was actually being made, instead of a more abstract tone or softening to the message. It was also observed that women are much more likely to use emoji in general, the study finding that 92% of women reported using emoji while only 78% of men reported using emoji. [5] Despite both age and gender having an influence on the how often, or how emojis are used. Age did not seem to affect how often they were used, while gender did not seem to affect how well an individual could decipher it’s meaning. However, more important, this does show the trend that older generations have a harder time deciphering this “new age” language, while those raised around it understand its uses and abstract nature easier.

Emojis are used all over the world, each culture around that world with its own values and history. Because of these differences often times our languages sound different, are constructed differently or function in entirely unique ways. Emojis are just as influenced by our culture just as much as our regular speech. The University of Pennsylvania held a study that studied differences and similarities in the way cultures in the East and West used emojis. One of the things discovered is that when discussing health related topics, those living in the West were much more likely to use emoji that are generally understood as negative, while in Eastern countries medical related emojis were used most often, things like needles, pills, and other healthcare objects. As well as this, within the top 15 emojis used in both the East and the West, the two only shared 7 different emojis in common, and the only emoji to be places in the same spot was the “Laughing with tears of joy” emoji, both in the number one spot. Despite the many differences observed, both groups still use the same types of emoji at the same frequency. Smileys, the most common, followed by People, Activities, Animals + Nature, and so on. [6]