EMOJI is a pretty universal language but many of us may be using them completely wrong.
The popular pictograms can be easily misconstrued, as new research suggests.
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Even seemingly innocent ones like the slightly smiling face is apparently misused.
Almost a quarter of us use it to convey a genuine smile when messaging friends and family but it can have the opposite effect for some generations.
Gen Z and Millennials interpret it as showing passive aggressiveness, or for moments of sarcasm and even irritation.
And so many others are also causing confusion.
Upside down smiley face
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The upside down smiley face is one of the top five misunderstood emoji, according to a poll of 1,000 people by TextAnywhere.
It can easily represent sarcasm, irony, humour, and silliness, but also awkwardness or frustration, where someone might use it instead of typing “oh well”.
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Yet many said they think it is for moments of happiness.
Information desk person
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Did you know that the person holding their hand out is actually an information desk person?
Most people use it to mean ‘whatever’ or show ‘sass’.
Face with steam from nose
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The face with steam from nose is also misunderstood.
While half said it’s to demonstrate anger or frustration, some identified it as someone sneezing.
Grimacing face
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The grimacing emoji rounds off the list, giving users the wrong impression entirely.
It is usually a sign of nervousness, awkwardness or embarrassment, but some believe it implies anger.
“There is a lot to be said for the role that emojis play in our day-to-day interactions and the fun they can add, be that on text to a family member or on messenger to a colleague,” said Emjay Lofts, head of marketing at TextAnywhere.
In fact, there’s an emoji to represent almost anything these days, from an emotion to a type of fruit.
“Emojis have become a popular way to express non-verbal cues like tone of voice and mood.
“But now that so many of our in-person conversations have been replaced by messages, emojis carry a lot more weight when it comes to helping us communicate.
“Often, they can replace words so it’s important for us to fully understand their meaning and ensure our messages are delivered correctly.”
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
