In today’s digital age, communication has become faster and more convenient than ever. And emojis are one of the key players in this revolution. With over 90% of online users using emojis to express themselves, it is no wonder these tiny icons have become an important part of our online language.
But did you know that July 17th is dedicated to celebrating these beloved symbols? Marking World Emoji Day, this special occasion was coined by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, a go-to resource for all things emoji.
The reason behind this date is quite clever – the calendar emoji on iOS keypads displays July 17, making it a fitting choice.
WORLD EMOJI DAY: HISTORY
The evolution of emojis have transformed simple text-based messages into expressive exchanges. The journey began in the 1980s with basic text-based emoticons like “:-)” and “:-(” . In 1999, a Japanese designer created the first set of emojis for a mobile company, which led to their global adoption.
In 2007, a software internationalisation team at Google petitioned to get emoji recognised by the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit group that works to maintain text standards across computers.
Emojis started to gain popularity across nations and in 2011, Apple added an official emoji keyboard to iOS, making it accessible to a lot of countries. With time, the emojis kept on evolving and expanding like the introduction of people, cultures, different skin tones, genders and family structures. Today, there are thousands of emojis available, representing everything from animals to food to flags.
WORLD EMOJI DAY: SIGNIFICANCE
In an era of social media, emojis play a huge role, be it on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or WhatsApp. It not only influences our day-to-day life but also helps us communicate better. It helps to represent our feelings without using words. Emojis also have a cultural impact on people. It conveys various emotions, concepts, ideas and their meanings can vary based on different contexts and culture. These tiny digital icons allow us to communicate more effectively.
HOW EMOTICONS HAVE CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE COMMUNICATE IN THIS RECENT WORLD
- Messages without emojis now feel somewhat incomplete, as they play an important role in conveying emotions and tone in a way that text alone cannot.
- Emojis help the receiver better understand the intended tone and sentiment behind the message.
- While they are generally avoided in formal conversations, emojis can add a touch of friendliness to informal exchanges.
- Again, it saves a lot of time as it can replace multiple words and by using a single emoji one can understand what the person is trying to convey.
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