Mayfield: Far more than meets the eye when it comes to how we use emojis

Written by Travis Mayfield, filling in this week for Dave Ross on Seattle’s Morning News

Before you LOL at this topic, think about how many emojis you use.

The top five most used emojis were recently announced, and the list goes as follows:

1. 😂
2. ❤
3. 🤣
4. 👍
5. 😭

So how does anyone even know how often we use these emojis? Well, there’s actually an international body that maintains standards of text and approves and tracks new and old emojis. It’s called the Unicode Consortium.

Now, Gen-Z might want to have a word with the Unicode Consortium, because they have expressed a loathing for all five of those emojis, instead preferring the coolness of the smiley face with a cowboy hat.

Meanwhile, the boomers I know love their personalized BITmojis (mom) and animated GIFs (dad).

But that’s where this silly commentary about emojis takes a turn. Scientists say it’s thumbs that set us apart, but I would argue its communicating with images. Aren’t cave paintings basically Gen-Flintstone’s emojis?

My point is that we have words, yet sometimes they aren’t enough. Friends need secret codes. Families need inside jokes. Lovers need eggplants.

If I text my friend a whale emoji, she knows I’m still thinking about her son who died six years ago.

It is instant. It is impactful. It is important. And at its very essence, isn’t that what true human connection should be?

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