Week 7: EOTO Com Tech Timeline Pt. 2

Emoticons or “emojis” have been around for a couple of years now. Their purpose is to convey emotions through little pictures that have a cartoonish look to them. When emojis were first released (at least on iPhone and iOS devices) they were a secret that not many people knew about. But, once you’ve shuffled through a few menu screens and tapped a few buttons, the keyboard becomes available. Back then, there were so little options compared to today’s ones. Now there are thousands of different emojis that a user can select. This vast increase in the number of emojis must have improved their ability to convey emotions and messages, right? Not exactly. 

This article written by pyschologistworld.com discusses emojis ability to convey emotions and messages. While there are always two sides to every coin, the summation of the article generally lets its readers decide how they want to view emojis. Are they an effective means of communication, or are they simply just another technical complication that’s getting in the way of real human interaction? The way I see it, emojis are great tools that can be used to make a message funny, heartfelt, or even depressing. What emojis do well is give (almost) everyone and everything a representation. Nowadays, basically everyone can find an emoji that they can identify with. But, while they may be great tools, they may also be hindering our ability to communicate effectively. What if someone uses an emoji that is meant to have a different meaning than what the reader thinks. What if somebody interprets a message the wrong way and it leads to irreparable consequences? What about those who are visually impaired and may not be able to see emojis. Don’t get me wrong, I love emojis and I love using them. But more often than not I see them as a toy rather than a tool.