The Internet age has spawned new forms of communication. that require less and less than complete words and sentences. Messaging networks such as WhatsApp have allowed users to adopt new terminologies that normally seek to save time when writing messages. Words, however, are no longer the only form of expression. Nonverbal language isn’t either, at least over text. Several alternatives have been added to the conventional keyboard, such as ‘gifs’, ‘stickers’ -in the case of WhatsApp’ or, the classic emoticons.
Historically, the creation of emoticons dates back thousands of years -for some-, but their appearance on the Internet was mainly with the intention of distinguishing the emotion behind the words expressed. Scott Fahlman included them in 1982, 40 years ago, in the electronic messaging portals between professors and students of Carnegie Mellon University. He did it in order to avoid the problems that could be generated around the interpretation of the sentences. The smiley face It was the first of the symbols to be created by means of a series of combinations of keyboard signs, which were later followed during the 1990s by the first digital preset emoticons.
If you are wondering how many emoticons currently exist, the answer is, 3663 -according to data recorded in September 2021-. The evolution of these signs is becoming more and more extensive, since now, they are not only created to designate more and more objects, states or emotions, but many of them -especially those that interpret a person- also vary in terms of meaning. color and gender. 2023 will be no different in terms of novelties, since the emoji update 15 It will arrive on Android and IOS between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. New hearts, faces, animals or emotes will be included in the package.
Although the variety is so wide, users usually get used to using a few, among which the most popular ones are usually included. This year, the official page ‘Emojipedia’ launched a survey through the social network Twitter, to create the ranking with the most used symbols each year -the statistics are published on July 17-. The winner of the recognition was finally the melting faceafter winning the final against the face holding back tears.
For the revista ‘Rolling Stone’which annually publishes its favorites in different fields, the emoticon of the military greeting has been the most important. As the magazine explains, it is not only due to the importance that it has taken on social networks, but also to the symbol of expression of solidarity that it became through Twitter after the massive layoffs of Elon Musk after buying the social network.