Recent studies like these have discovered some incredible things about emojis! They can provide a wealth of information about a person’s character and goals in private communications such as text messages and social media posts. In one small study, 285 undergraduates—most of them 20 and under—were tested on their ability to identify 40 common symbols. The researchers wanted to know what these symbols really meant.
The results suggest that as we theorized, emojis like those found here are indeed politically charged, reflecting distinct ideologies and potentially behaviors. For example, emojis like the apple, bean, bill, or the “100” symbol can indicate affiliations with “Incel” culture. Imagery such as the hedgehog, the lightning bolt, or the numbers 1488 are associated with “Neo-Nazi” ideology. What’s more, the minimum wage emoji shown above when ghost, goblin, or monster emojis are used is often seen as anti-women.
The research shows that cocaine is one of the most popularly portrayed drugs through emojis. Popular options have been the snowflake, 8-ball and snowman. Currently marijuana is on display with images of trees, leaves or tree branches. In stark contrast, when MDMA is portrayed, it is usually with the money bill emoji. Other substances such as ketamine and psychedelic mushrooms have their respective emoji representations: a horse and a red mushroom icon.
The researchers wanted to get to the bottom of emoji use in a way that was more useful than fun or decorative. Their goal was to find the connection between emoji use and personality traits.
“Emoji use may be related to strategies to manipulate the perceptions of others and to present a positive impression of oneself,” – researchers
At Public Media Camp 3, Julie Zhuo, Facebook’s director of product design, illustrated these concepts with a cell phone full of new emoji-like stickers. She lamented the mutation of these symbols, and their meaning, in today’s digital age.
Kalley, a contributor to the study, noted, “It’s far from an exhaustive list, but it’s based on common emojis used to say something very different to what you’d think.” This punctuation #fails emoji #fail This statement highlights the danger of misunderstanding in all digital communications, where emojis can have double meanings.
The researchers’ conclusions highlight how emoji use functions as coded language for users. As modes of communication shift further towards digital platforms, understanding these nuances only grows in relevance for discerning intentions behind messages.
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