World Emoji Day: Emojis Have Transformed The Way We Communicate

With rapid digitization we see humanity evolving in different ways. One of the rocks that is essential to human existence is communication. Communication has rapidly evolved throughout the years. This gained momentum with the advancement of technology. Today phones are the most popular tools for communication. It is through mediums like WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram that we can reach out people in an instant. Along with developed mediums what has also improved is the way we communicate and what we communicate. We now have multiple language options that help us in expressing ourselves better. However what is the one thing that face to face communication can do that messaging can’t?  The non-verbal language; mainly facial expressions. But this problem is also now solved since the time emoji option got installed into all these sites.

But how impactful are these emojis? How have they changed the scene of communication through virtual means and what do they aim to do?

To get an insight into the usage of emojis and their significance, SheThePeople talked to millenials to know their opinions on the issue.

But how impactful are these emojis? How have they changed the scene of communication through virtual means and what do they aim to do?

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Impact and comparison

Aditi Choudhary a 16-year-old says, “I use emojis quite often. I feel it expresses things better. When I add a smiley, it lets the person know that I am saying something in a light-hearted manner. Similarly seeing someone else reply with laughing emoji makes me really happy. They are lively and make the conversation feel more human.”

A student of LSR, Mansi Rathi, differs in her approach, “I don’t use emojis a lot. I feel them to be a little pretentious at times. It is an attempt to just cover up that you don’t have anything meaningful left to say. No matter how much Artificial Intelligence develops, you cannot substitute actual human interaction with just with emojis and make virtual communication equivalent to it. I liked the older system of communication better; we could just call and hear through the person’s voice all of their emotions. It required more effort.”

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Robotic or Real?

Prachi Johri, a 19 year old college student says, “Emojis are colourful and lively. When I don’t want the conversation to get boring I just add one or two here and there so that the person knows I am interested. My favourite emoji is the heart one. It adds to the vibe of the conversation. I don’t think emojis are making us robotic, I think they are making virtual communication more human.”

“I love the concept of emojis. There are stickers and GIFs also. Sometimes one expression could mean multiple things. But when you add an emoji, the expression instantly becomes clear."

A 17-year-old Shruti, says, “I love the concept of emojis. There are stickers and GIFs also. Sometimes one expression could mean multiple things. But when you add an emoji, the expression instantly becomes clear. For example, “Wow” can mean amazement and at the same time give a sense of sarcasm. But when you add an emoji with it, you know for sure what it means. For someone who’s always over-thinking, emojis do help a lot. I think my favourite one has to be the laughing one. It makes the conversation so much more interesting. If the other person thinks you find them funny, things obviously get going.”

While Spenta Jassawala remains neutral, “I don’t use it a lot. Only, when I am very excited I use them. I find them a little extra to be honest. But they do make a conversation lively and fun. My favourite one would be the dancing girl in the red dress. It perfectly captures my reaction to good things. Emojis do sometimes substitute for long sentences and convey things in short. I don’t think they are making us robotic, it is making virtual communication more real because after this is the only tool left with us now, given we are always busy.”

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Snigdha Gupta is an intern with SheThePeople.Tv