There are 3,782 emojis in the Unicode Standard, according to emojipedia.org. Until approximately 10 minutes ago, I didn’t know there was an “official” standard index. I also learned, about five minutes ago, that a Senior Emoji Lexicographer writes the definitions. Yes, it’s a real, and highly valued, position. The Unicode Standard is updated systematically, with new emojis being introduced to platforms including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft on a regular basis.
Here’s my hot take. I think emojis are a critical communications tool, but sometimes their meanings are unclear, and they leave us feeling stressed out.
I decided to look at one emoji type: the smile face. Most of us use a variation of these endearing faces with some regularity. But here’s where it gets interesting. There are actually six subcategories for this emoji type. The “smiling and affectionate” subcategory includes:
😃 😄 😁 😆 😅 🤣 😂 🙂 😉 😇 🥰 😍 🤩 😘 😗 😚 😏
And remember, there are five additional subcategories!
While each may technically have an “official” definition, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that we assign multiple meanings to each one depending upon such things as the demographics of the person who sent it, the context, if the face was combined with one or more additional emojis, etc. You get the point.
Emojis often leave us thinking, “What did they mean by that?” Or, “Should I respond with an emoji?” And even, “How unprofessional!”
It’s possible to have an entire conversation in emoji language. But is it wise? We can spend too much time contemplating what an emoji might be expressing, or worse, go down the Internet rabbit hole searching for clues.
Just a friendly reminder that we all interpret emojis differently and to think before we hit send.
🐝 ⚠️
Categories: Content