![]() Moreover, I think the use of emoticons and emojis is a supplemental tool to our traditional forms of expression. One should expect written language only to become more and more complex. It is crazy to think society would degenerate in this respect, while universal knowledge in all fields of thought continues to expand every day. Written language has evolved to a point at which we can express ourselves and the complexities of our psyches in very detailed and precise ways. The earliest civilizations used picture-based communication before written communication was not as developed and complex as it is today. I do not think the use of emoticons is shifting our communication to one that is “dumbed-down” and image-based I think it is silly to think that it would. ![]() What implications does this popular form of communication have for our culture? Are we approaching what some call an image-based culture, or are these emoticons simply supplemental means of expression? Do they say things that words cannot, or are they a crutch for our inability to articulate our thoughts? Get your copy from Amazon or Smashwords.Our culture is saturated with pictorial representations of words and concepts, which have been dubbed “emoticons” or, in Japanese, “emoji.” Sometimes, entire conversations are expressed exclusively by emoticons. Paula is also the author of Embracing Conflict - a self-help guide filled with practical tools and insights. Attend one of her regular monthly workshops for great empowering tools. She teaches individuals and organisations the importance of quality relationships using emotional intelligence, Imago Therapy and NLP principles. Paula Quinsee is a Relationship Wellness Coach in Johannesburg. Perhaps the ancient Egyptians were onto something when they invented hieroglyphics as a means of communication that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Love it or hate it, it seems the emoji is here to stay. People are using emojis as an alternative way to express emotion and as substitue for the facial expressions they would get when communicating face-to-face. Facebook Chat now lets you use the profile picture of any user, official Page, or event on their service as an emoticon reinforcing the current day demand for personalisation and instant gratification. Fifty-seven per cent said that they would rather tell a "crush" their true feelings with emoticons than words.ĭid you know that e moticons no longer have to be anonymous smiley faces representing simple emotions. In 2007, Yahoo! surveyed 40,000 Yahoo Messenger users and found that 82 percent of them used emoticons in their IM conversations 83 percent said that "happiness" and "flirting" are the two emotions they express most with emoticons. So are we using these colourful little characters to express what we really are feeling and thinking, or to avoid saying what we really want to communicate as it's easier to just click on a smiley face? The risk of using this kind of written communication is whether words or pictures belies the tonality of face to face communication as this can often lead to confusion around intent and potential conflict areas that the person communicating thought they were avoiding in the first place. New research in the Journal of Neuroscience confirms our brains work this way - we learn words by training neurons to recognize complete words - not parts of them. One can understand why emoticon's and emoji's are so popular, as humans we think in pictures, our brains see words as pictures. Many of you may or may not be aware that Facebook recently updated it's emoticon range to inlcude new emoji's that reflect more of an emotional aspect for individuals when commenting on posts (see picture above). If you happened to miss my first article on this subject, you can find it here
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