The use of emoticons during correspondence between people is no longer just normal, but has established itself in conversation as a fundamental pillar, as users now use them instead of words as well.
However, some of them can fully reveal the user’s tendencies and feelings.
Pay attention.. a separation from the truth
A new study by researchers at the University of Tokyo in Japan has confirmed that people who use happy emoji are cheerful, do it to hide their true feelings, and may use them to express themselves, according to Frontiers in Psychology.
The researchers wanted to investigate the link between emoji use and emotion management and the study saw around 1289 Japanese volunteers use these emojis in response to online conversations.
Participants, mostly female and aged 11 to 26, reported the intensity of emotional expressions.
However, the results indicated that happy emojis are often used to hide negative feelings and manage conversations to make the message appear more positive, but it really isn’t.
I’ve also found that using more negative emojis, like a sad face, actually expresses negative emotions and is very powerful.
Experts also found that people were more likely to use positive emoticons when experiencing negative emotions or when talking to people of higher status.
In turn, Moyo Liu, an expert in emotional behavior at the University of Tokyo who led the research, explained that due to the diffusion of social networks, people are used to beautifying their expressions and assessing the adequacy of their communication , warning that this leads us to lose touch with our true feelings, as he said.
Liu also expressed concern that the increased frequency of online social contact will lead people to become more detached from their true feelings.
Great importance
Interestingly, given the importance of these “emoji” symbols in our daily lives, there have been many studies recently done on what they are used for.
It has recently emerged that the crying emoji and smiley face are some of the emoticons that Gen Z people want to stop using, because they find the smiley face, for example, “a bit passive-aggressive.”
They also discovered that there are symbols that have inappropriate connotations, inviting them not to be used.
