Much of Friday’s World Emoji Day celebration has been fun and lighthearted. And yay for that! But we at Yahoo Tech think it’s important to not overlook how the emoji language, the newest and most expressive language used to communicate online, has become a tool worth taking seriously.
To prove our point, we present eight notable reasons why we think you can give and receive emojis with a straight face.
1. Emoji is the fastest-growing language in history
You may think very little of the smiling poop messages you regularly send your buddies, but those are in fact contributing to the proliferation of the “fastest growing form of language in history,” according to professor Vyv Evans of Bangor University in the U.K. He told the BBC in May that emoji is proliferating centuries faster than its ancient precursor, Egyptian hieroglyphics.
2. Emoji passwords are more secure than text passwords
We can either let people continue to debate what the solution to the broken password should be, or we can smarten up and accept that the answer lies right in front of us — in emoji. According to a recent report by Mic.com, emoji passwords are not only easier to remember, but with more than 700 unique emojis to use in a passcode sequence (compared with 26 letters and 10 numbers), also far more secure.
3. Couples who communicate in emoji have more successful relationships
A recent survey, another by professor Vyv Evans, found that 72 percent of people feel it’s easier to convey their feelings in emoji than text. So you can get serious about being more open with your partner by ramping up the kissy faces and heart icons.
4. Emoji use makes you more popular on social media
Showing more emotion on Facebook and Twitter can earn you more social media power, a 2014 study revealed. And since these days, figurative Klout online is just as good as actual clout IRL, we say let the emojis fly.
5. Our brains are more stimulated when reading emoji
When looking at a smiling emoji on a screen, the neuron thingies inside our heads fire up nearly the same way they do when you are taking in an actual human face. After learning that, plain old text messages sure sound a lot less stimulating, don’t they?
6. People who use emojis have more sex
A real study by a Rutgers University professor resulted in this finding. Use the information as you so desire.
7. Very important people decide which emojis get made
It’s the Unicode Consortium, comprised of some notable world VIPs, that dictates what emojis are released and when. So if smilies aren’t such a big deal, then can you explain why members of UC Berkeley, Oracle, IBM, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and the governments of India and Bangladesh are putting votes toward which ones get made?
8. Emojis are playing a role in political equality
Quite a few online petitions were created and advocacy boards put into motion before Apple finally brought racially diverse and LGBT representative emojis to its devices. The change, celebrated all across social media, created a more inclusive, dynamic, and understanding language for the millions of individuals who use it.
Of course, don’t get us wrong. Even considering all of the above, we can still appreciate a good and silly eggplant emoji gag here and there.
Source: Yahoo
