What's An Emoji 🤔
Emoji are a keyboard input that was first conceptualized in the 1990s and included in the standard keyboard in 2004 on devices such as the DoCoMo i-mode, which is thought to be the origins of the smartphone. Emoji, which were first referred to as smileys, and later introduced into the Unicode standard in 2008 were implemented by organizations like Google in Gmail, and Apple devices.
The availability of emoji on devices today is a result of several proposals for improving international standardization. For instance, in late 2014 the Unicode Technical Committee proposed a report titled Unicode Emoji which defined a means to support multiple skin tones as well as improve interoperability of emoji between vendors. They serve as an extension to our already established QWERTY keyboard that has been in existence since the dawn of computing. An emoji is an image that can be selected by a user and has a semantic meaning that further explains or describes a particular feeling, activity, or intention.
They are included in the Universal Coded Character Set (Unicode), which is the international standard for text representation and they have a large pop culture influence. We are going to be exploring 10 emoji and the message that they convey starting with the peace sign ✌.
1. Peace Sign ✌
The peace sign symbolizes a friendly interaction and is used to convey a message of positivity. It is most commonly used at the end of a conversation by someone to signify kind regards or a goodbye message. The peace sign is a powerful emoji because it supports the shared value of world peace 🌍.
2. The One Hundred 💯
This emoji is a quantitative rating about anything that is to be or has already been said about a particular subject and how it is as close as possible to the truth. An example colloquial use of this can be "keep it a hundred with me" which simply means "tell me the truth." The one hundred can be used to support a statement in a group chat as a way of substantiating it, as in "What you've just said is indisputable."
3. The Eye Roll 🙄
The eye roll is particularly used when you don't necessarily agree with someone but would rather not get involved in an argument with them — agree to disagree, "whatever you say 🙄." The eye roll is an emoji that conveys those inner feelings that are difficult to show with face-to-face interaction. In a one-on-one, in-person conversation, this is would be the conclusion of a debate or a discussion of conflicting views. The expression of this feeling is what a parent would describe their child as showing a bad attitude.
4. Zipper Mouth Face 🤐
I would use the zipper mouth face if I wanted to be impartial in a group discussion. The zipper mouth face says to the group participants, "I would rather not comment on this subject." People may do this to avoid conflict or because they are not knowledgeable about the topic. The zippered mouth face emoji can be complemented or replaced by the neutral face 😐 emoji which has a similar connotation.
5. Smiling Halo Face 😇
In a moral discussion, this emoji can be used to describe sainthood and the user of this emoji may earn a reputation for being good. People typically take pride in their ability to maintain certain standards and this emoji is a remark about the perfection of something. Other use cases of the halo face are condolences, innocence, and purity.
6. The Rocket 🚀
Not particularly an expression of emotion but rather a comment about the projected success or outcome of something. An example use case of the rocket emoji is if one wanted to say that a proposed business plan will have great returns. It describes an optimistic outlook if you consider the difficulty of actually launching a rocket into orbit and people tend to say, "This isn't rocket science" if they want to reduce the difficulty of a task.
7. Clinking Beer Mugs 🍻
This emoji is used to express agreement. The use of two beverage glasses has connotations of a celebratory mood. People tend to celebrate together and in a group chat, this emoji may be used after a long period of hard work and the successful accomplishment of a team goal which then opens up the discussion to suggestions for a rewarding activity.
8. Fire Emoji 🔥
Most commonly seen in a live stream chat or social media post, the fire emoji praises the subject and is normally followed by clapping hands 👏 or words of reassurance. Fire emojis are normally written as three consecutive texts to draw attention to the subject i.e. 🔥🔥🔥. The color used for this emoji as well as the symbolism of fire depicts an idea of trendiness or popularity. Here is a song by a Zimbabwean artist called 'Fire Emoji.'
9. Crossed Fingers 🤞
Similar to the 100, the crossed fingers say "I swear, I am not lying." A person would use this emoji to manipulate someone into believing what they are saying is true even if it isn't. The receiver of this emoji is bound to accept the message of the sender as the truth, utilizing the crossed fingers as an oath. Another use of crossed fingers is showing hope and anticipating that something will turn out successful in the face of a potentially bad outcome.
10. Tears of Joy 😂
By far one of the most used emojis in the world because of the positivity that surrounds it. This emoji expresses a feeling that exists in most of us describing our ability to be happy but melancholic at the same time. People use this emoji when a joke has been typed or an image has been shared that invokes laughter and provides comedic relief. In an in-person setting, one would normally laugh until cry when a good thing takes place after anticipating a bad one. "Tears of joy" was named word of the year in 2015 by Oxford Dictionaries.
Emojis are a large part of our lives and their significance may increase with ideas such as the Metaverse. In 2017, The Emoji Movie was released and depicts different emoji as characters with personalities that represent their particular function. This is only one example of a popular cultural reference. Let me know what you think of this article by sending me an emoji of your own here and if you haven't already, here's another article of mine, "Comparing Software Engineering to the Stone Age".
P.S. The plural form of emoji is optional and can be emoji or emojis.
