Emojis have been a core component of text based communication for quite some time now. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the manner in which they tend to get used has changed dramatically over the years. Many Emojis that appear to mean one thing can mean another entirely, and the smiley face emoji might be the biggest example of that with all things having been considered and taken into account.
A recent study conducted at the University of Tokyo has revealed the truth behind smiley face emojis. Rather than being ways to express positive emotions, these emojis are more often used to hide negative feelings. The study involved participants using various emojis and then ranking their emotional state, and it turned out that smiley face users were more likely to feel negative emotions than might have been the case otherwise.
This does not automatically mean that every smiley face is hiding something painful underneath it. It just suggests that people are now masking their feelings with emojis, similar to how they use facial expressions in the real world.
One thing that this study highlighted was that people were more likely to use emojis that accurately expressed their emotional state if they were talking to individuals that they actually felt close to. Speaking to loved ones can open you up because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making you feel safe, so it’s really not surprising that such a trend was noted by the researchers behind this study.
People who use emojis that accurately express their feelings are likely to be more satisfied with life than those who use them to mask their feelings. That makes sense considering that we do the same in real life interactions as well.
This just goes to show that online interactions are basically just slightly different versions of the same forms of communication human beings have been using since time immemorial. The researchers plan to conduct another study soon that will break the data down by gender and other factors.
Read next: What do people really think about the metaverse?
A recent study conducted at the University of Tokyo has revealed the truth behind smiley face emojis. Rather than being ways to express positive emotions, these emojis are more often used to hide negative feelings. The study involved participants using various emojis and then ranking their emotional state, and it turned out that smiley face users were more likely to feel negative emotions than might have been the case otherwise.
This does not automatically mean that every smiley face is hiding something painful underneath it. It just suggests that people are now masking their feelings with emojis, similar to how they use facial expressions in the real world.
One thing that this study highlighted was that people were more likely to use emojis that accurately expressed their emotional state if they were talking to individuals that they actually felt close to. Speaking to loved ones can open you up because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making you feel safe, so it’s really not surprising that such a trend was noted by the researchers behind this study.
People who use emojis that accurately express their feelings are likely to be more satisfied with life than those who use them to mask their feelings. That makes sense considering that we do the same in real life interactions as well.
This just goes to show that online interactions are basically just slightly different versions of the same forms of communication human beings have been using since time immemorial. The researchers plan to conduct another study soon that will break the data down by gender and other factors.
Read next: What do people really think about the metaverse?
