Emojis

Emoji can be a useful tool to communicate nuance in spaces where body language can’t do the communicating.

How do people use them differently?

I experience having to codeswitch between emojis depending on what platform I’m on. Just because I use a “Joy” emoji in a particular context on iOS doesn’t mean I’ll use the “Joy” emoji in a similar context on Windows. In practical terms, they’re the “same” emoji, but are they metaphysically the “same” when each company – Apple, Microsoft, etc. – has its own set of emoji that look completely different? A Plea for Emoji visit

Ongoing research suggests that people interpret emoji slightly differently based on their gender, their culture, and the platform they’re using.Receiver Interpretations of Emoji Functions: A Gender Perspective visit

Some folks have argued that emojis are their own language. While internet linguistics are a burgeoning field, emojis are lacking a lot of the syntax and semantics associated with a linguistically interesting language.

Notes from other places

This goes beyond emojis, getting as subtle as whether to include a period at the end of a text or use a lower-case L when typing “lol”Receiver Interpretations of Emoji Functions: A Gender Perspective visit.