Emoji in Communication - Essay Example

Emoji in Communication Introduction The word emoji derives its meaning from two words; emotions and a Japanese word kanji which means Japanese character. Emoji is defined as an image or an expressive face or cartoon that is used to convey emotions in writing on cell phones, texts or online chats. Over the past few years, emoji have gained popularity like never before. This can directly be associated with the rapid advance and the takeover of the social media as primary means of communication. With platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among others, emoji have become a more relevant means of communication to most people. There are individuals who find it more efficient to express their emotions with the help of emoji other than use of words. However, this can be misinterpreted by other people to mean that an individual is poor in writing or has little interest in a given conversation. According to Wroclawski (2014), the popularity of emoji is under no doubt at its pick but there is a question about its sustainability in communication. Emoji has a setback of misinterpretation. In as much as they are universal, they can easily be misinterpreted and eventually render ineffective communication. Nonetheless, Wroclawski sees a high potential for emoji to go above this setback and unify global communication. The reason for this is that Emoji does not require special skills to interpret. According to Sternbergh (2014) the use of emoji has turned to be a new language on its own. With over 470 million joy emoji being used on twitter today, this might be the birth of a new language on its own. Emoji has an advantage over the traditional method of communication through written words as they can be translated by both the literate and illiterate. Emoji have come with a wave of revolution as it has affected in way greater way the way the society is communicating. Conventional wisdom Arias (2007) argues that it is very significant to learn and understand the use of emoji as a form of communication. Emoji, which were founded from the emoticons, has become more relevant in communication as they can be used to express emotions that might otherwise not been expressed effectively verbally. For a long time, emoticons have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. But this has not undermined their role to add emphasis to communication. Even in circumstances where other forms of communication like words are successful in expressing emotions, the emoji still plays a role in enforcing and emphasizing the particular emotions. They have an advantage of being applied anywhere and at any time though conventionally, they are mainly associated with distance texting and chatting. Marsden (2013) seems to have a different perspective concerning the relevance and application of emoji. The author questions the value added by emoji in communication. The use of Emoji can sometimes turn out to be cumbersome other than helpful and useful. At such points, they turn out to be tools of decoration that can only be used to add style to the language of communication by an individual. Contradictive, Rivera (2015) sees the use emoji more very significant than other forms of traditional communication like writing. The effect of emoji can be analyzed by looking information portrayed in the absence of words but with emoji only. The information will still be effective. Long distance lack of human touch has long disadvantaged communication and feel. The use of emoji gives an individual the sense of face to face contact. My Perspective In as much as Emojis are used to express deep emotions in text form, they cannot undermine the power of face to face communication. With face to face communication, the individuals can see the facials expressions, as well as other non-verbal communication. This is a very important aspect of communication. With emoji, the emotions expressed may not necessarily be the sincere. According to Alice (2015) the use of emoji has its benefits but nonetheless, it has far much negative effective of human communication. Most people have been turned into emotionless beings with signs of little or completely no human connection. With the use of emoji, individuals can easily send expressions of joy and ecstasy whereas in reality, the contrary is true. Most people will find it more convenient to communicate by texting and chatting online other than face to face communication. They do this because texting can be used to misrepresent their emotions using emoji. In the long-run, these individuals are likely to develop resistance towards real emotions and feelings due to subjecting themselves into falsehood emotion misrepresentation. Among the many challenges of using emoji, misinterpretation is the main and the most common. There are many factors that cause and they include background knowledge, context among other factors. These misinterpretations become a barrier to effective communication. An intended information may be translated to mean the complete opposite if the emoji is wrongly misinterpreted. According to Darks (2008) the interpretation of an emoji is based on a number of factors. These factors make the interpretation either a divergent or the intended interpretation. Some of the factors include the environment of an individual and their daily routine. Similarly with other graphical icons can also affect the interpretation and decoding of an emoji. Nonetheless, there are situations where there convergence in meaning. There are cases where emoji can be translated based on particular groups who over time have attached their own meaning to different Emojis. The meaning of specific icons and symbols are only known to the members of this particular group. Many may consider this a disadvantage as the members of the group may not be able to differentiate the application of the emoji in a different context. However, the advantage in this is that the members of the group can communicate effectively. Likewise, a new form of language will have emerged giving them some sense of privacy and secret coding as they are the only ones understanding the coding. According to The Communicative Functions of Emoticon in the workplace (2015), the use of Emoji can be localized. People working together or who spend more time together may have the same interpretation of emoji which may most probably not have the same meaning for an individual from a different area. This factor is limited to the application context as the members of the group can only translate the meaning while in this group and not in any other environment. Emoji has an advantage of graphical representation that seem more appealing, unlike plain text. In communication, this gives people a sense of interaction and personal touch. According to Emoticons, (2015) emoji come in different shapes, and this gives the use different options. Consequently, it allows the user to express different emotions in an effective way that might otherwise be difficult with the use of words only. If it were a case of limited icons, then it would lead to repetition and this would introduce cumbersome in communication leading to Emoji losing its intended purpose. It is difficult and nearly impossible to ignore the use of Emoji in communication and specifically chatting and texting setup. Nonetheless, its acceptability by different people and situations has had controversies over the impact it has on communication. There are those who think that they have no use and that they cannot effectively be used to send the intended meanings different. But over years, the emoticons have developed too, and the majority of people are accepting them. The initial use of emoji may seem challenging especially if an individual does not have background knowledge on the use of emoji but with time, learning becomes easier. Other Logos and Ethos The circumstances under which an individual may decide to use the emoji vary. With the advance in technology, the social media has made communication easier and in the midst of all this, emoji has taken a centre stage of the social media and texting. Whenever individuals find themselves texting or chatting, they are easily driven to use the emoji as many application and chatting platforms have the provision of the emoji. There are people who have adopted the use of emoji too much that they use them even is situations that are unnecessary. According to BarCharts Inc. (2009) the use of Emoji is so much based on the circumstances under which it is being applied. The majority of people use them for necessity purposes; to express certain feelings. In cases of communicating with individuals that may be less privileged or physically challenged like the deaf, the use of emoji might be efficient. The necessity to use the emoji may also arise in situations where there is limited time to text or type a long sentence. The use of one emoji can carry meaning that otherwise would take more to express with use of words. In situations of dealing with individuals that may be challenged in reading or illiterate, the use of emoji will be effective other than written words. Other factors include weariness and fatigue by the use. An individual may be too tired or fatigued to type long sentences and decides to use the emoji. Emoji also processes the power of precision and, therefore, a user may use them to make the message more precise and exact. Every society and community has its forms of communication most of which are limited within these organizations and communities. Emoji is global phenomenon and cuts across all the cultures and societies. Nonetheless, real life meanings of the expressions that have been translated and developed into emoji vary from culture to culture. This might affect the use of Emoji within multi-cultural setup. The use of a smile in the emoji is universally accepted as being welcoming, happy and expression of joy. To some people, wherever an individual smile, they may translate to simply mean they are delighted while others might see it as a form of sarcasm. Therefore, this may affect the interpretation of the icon. According to Park and Clay (2015) the use of emoji has a cross-culture effect. Forms of communication are localized in its initial stages. The use of Emoji is indifferent but over time it has grown in borders and more people are using them. More societies are accepting the use of Emoji in their day to day communication. Perhaps most of the controversial issues surrounding the emoji are its application and acceptance in workplaces. It is known that workplaces are formal and official places and therefore formal communication should be used. Nonetheless, the impact of emoji cannot be limited to social contexts only. Human relationships play a key role in productivity at work. Boosting human relationships means that the general workplace has equally been boosted. After all, the same circumstances that cause most people to use emoji face the same users while at their place of work. It is, therefore, necessary for employees to use emoji at their workplace. According to Gacey (2013), the use of the smiley symbol may have a very significant impact on the general performance of a company. The use of the smiley icon gives the employees happiness and harmony. If an employee gets a notification on their computers bearing a smiley icon, there is a strong bond of unity that develops between the two individuals. This harmony is easily translated to productivity and delivery in the company or business. The functions of the emoji have not been exhausted completely. Issues of peace negotiations, conflict resolutions can positively be solve using the emoji. Conclusion Emoji have become widely accepted in the past decades, and this has highly been caused by the rapid advance on internet and the use of social media. Most of the social media platforms have features that support the use of emoji. The use of Emoji in communication has an advantage over the other forms of communication because they are used to express human emotions and reactions. In as much as emoji have been accepted widely, they have setbacks mainly misinterpretation. Even in situations where texts and use of words may seem successful, emoji can be used to emphasize and reinforce the meaning of expressions. Emoji also has an advantage over words as they have human appeal unlike plain words. Emoji have affected human communication by making the users become emotionless beings. Most people have taken to texting and chatting to express emotions the may not necessarily be real feelings. This continued behavior may lead to individuals becoming resistant to genuine emotions and eventually turning into emotionless beings. It is easier for people to misinterpret the emoji. There are factors that determine the interpretation of the emoji; situations and environment of the recipients, background knowledge, and individual daily routine among others. The circumstances that lead to one using the emoji vary and they include the necessity for the emoji, urgency in communicating, and fatigue among others. The application of emoji has over time become more acceptable. Use of emoji in the workplace can affect the company positively. Emoji can also be used on other issues like peace talks and negotiations Works cited: Arias, Aurora Emoticons Viejo San Juan, P.R.: Terranova Editores, 2007. Print (PB) BarCharts, Inc. IM Abbreviations, Texting & Emoticons Boca Raton, Fla.: BarCharts, 2009. Print (SA) Derks, D., A. E. R. Bos, and J. Von Grumbkow "Emoticons and Online Message Interpretation Social Science Computer Review: 379-88. Print. (SA) Differences in Emoticons across Cultures International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media: n. p. Web. 19 Mar. 2015 Emoticons Emoticon Web 18 Mar. 2015(SB) Marsden, Rhodri. The Independent Digital News and Media, 1 May 2013. Web 19 Mar. 2015. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/more-than-words-are-emoji-dumbing-us-down-or-enriching-our-communications-8610767.html (SA) Gacey, Hannah. 1 Jan. 2013. Web 19 Mar. 2015. . Park, Jaram, and Clay Fink Proceedings of the Seventh International AAAI Conference on Weblogs and Social Media Web 18 Mar. 2015. www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM13/paper/view/6132 (SA) Rivera, Krisela "The Effects of Emotional Icons on Remote Communication." Effects of Emotional Icons on Remote Communication Web 18 Mar. 2015 (SA) Robb, Alice. "How Using Emoji Makes Us less E Sternbergh, AdamSmile, You're Speaking Emoji: The Rapid Evolution of a Wordless Tongue." Daily Intelligencer 16 Nov. 2014. Web 19 Mar. 2015. motional 1 Jan. 2014 Web 19 Mar. 2015 Read More