Arts & Culture

The Dilemma of Choosing the Right Emoji

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21st-century lives are centred around emojis, making daily survival almost impossible without our handy yellow friends. We dabble a little deeper into the world of these feel-good caricatures and discover some problematic issues hidden behind their design and usage.

 

Emojis are an integral part of the text language today. With a plethora of different emojis being created every day, innovative human-like emoticons are no longer an anomaly. Their vast and varied usage has made them a business venture for many, a famous example being paid celebrity emojis like Kimoji, 

While emoji’s most often if not always, accurately depict how we are feeling, there are problems that one may encounter while using them; 

 

1. Degree of Smile

One of the earliest emoji’s, the smiley emoji, while simple in its usage and meaning, can prove to be a tricky emoji when it comes to choosing which one to use, as there are simply too many options in this genre of emoji. Analysing the correct amount of curvature in smile, to accurately depict the precise degree of happiness one is feeling, can prove to be a task.

 

2. Sexual innuendos

If there is one talent this generation is most underappreciated for, it is the ability to read in between the lines, and yes emojis also have a wide array of meanings attached to them, some of them not so innocent. The most commonly used ‘naughty’ emojis are the peach, cherry, and eggplant emojis. In the words of talk show host Jimmy Fallon,”eggplant emojis are the modern equivalent of spelling b**bs out upside down on your calculator” 

Cautiously using these seemingly innocent emojis is advised, as their wrong usage may lead to unwanted attention and situations.

 

3. Choice of Heart 

The emoji dashboard has a wide range of hearts to select from. Sending out the right heart at the right time is imperative to avoid confusion. We all come across that one enthusiastic person who cannot wait to fill the flow of conversation with hearts. Be it the romantic red hearts or the platonic blue ones, heart emojis are instant mood lifters. However, staying calm while using them is key to getting the desired response in return.

 

4. Nature and Other Stuff

The next range of emojis includes weather depicting emojis, flora and fauna, and the lesser used emojis, such as those of floppy disks, confusing building structures, and other ambiguous objects. While nature emojis tend not to be ignored, most obscure objects usually never see the day of light on chat screens, making their marginalization problematic, even if it comes from a place of ignorance of meaning. 

 

Whatever the emoji, understanding its meaning, and correct usage is a basic life skill for a technologically sound human being of this internet obsessed generation.

 

Feature Image Credits:  Pinterest

 

Avnika Chhikara

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