An alternative to language: How well do people know their emojis?

It all started in the early 1980s, when computer scientist Scott Fahlman suggested that certain text-based symbols — such as :) and :( — could be used as an alternative to language. These “language” symbols came to be called emoticons (emotion icons), and were the precursor to what a smartphone-wielding world now indiscriminately uses: emojis. Such has been their popularity that they now have a day named after them: World Emoji Day — July 17.

But do people really understand which emoji conveys what. Messaging app Slack teamed up with Duolingo to survey 9,400 hybrid workers in North America, Asia and Europe (across 11 different countries) to find out.

How India sees them
 

46% say it means “I see you”; 27% think it means “I’m looking at this”; 10% believe it to mean “I know”; and another 10% use it to say “whoa”

 

 

45% say it means “I’m crying tears of joy”; 32% think it expresses “that’s hilarious”; and 12% read an “embarrassingly funny” message in it

 

 

Indians tend to be confused about the “loudly crying” and “face with tears of joy” emojis. 56% said “loudly crying” emoji is about “sobbing/upset crying”, while 22% say it means “I’m crying tears of joy”

 

 

52% say it means, “I love you (romantically); 27% see it as appreciation and “platonic love”

 

 

44% use it to show “I’m kidding”; 28% to express “feeling flirty”; 26% say it “refers to an inside joke”

 

 

57% see it as “taking care of themselves”; 18% use it to communicate “there’s gossip”; 12% say they don’t use it

 

 

46% say it represents death; 35% say they use it to show something is so funny, they’re “dead”

 

 

This one could invite disciplinary action in an office scenario, but it turns out not many know what it implies. 36% say it is a literal representation of the fruit; 28% use it to say they’re “feeling flirty”; 16% use it to convey they are “feeling hungry”

 

 

31%-36% Indians found these emojis most confusing

 

 

Workplace findings

• 58% of global employees surveyed say using emojis at work allows them to communicate more nuance with fewer words, and 55% say emoji use can speed up workplace communication. This was higher in the US: 69% of American respondents feel emoji allowed them more nuance, while 67% say it speeded up communication
 

• 67% of global respondents feel closer talking to someone who understands the emoji they’re using
 

• Globally, respondents are three times as likely to “always” use emoji when messaging their coworkers compared with their boss (21% vs. 7%)
 

• With friends, respondents are comfortable sending emojis after an average of three days — while they’re not comfortable sending them to coworkers until after four days. It’s even longer for a boss: five days.