[Original #3]Do We Have A Better Conversation With Emoji?

      Do you use Emoji when chatting online? Do you think people can communicate with each other better with the use of Emoji?  I love those cute and delicate emojis on my iPhone because whenever I don't know how to express with words, emojis become the best substitute.  We can see in the survey below, the top reason for using emojis is "They help me more accurately express what I am thinking".  However, those vivid and convenient symbols for expressing personal feelings can be a nightmare for effective communication.

      What do you think the meaning of the emoji (right)? On Chinese social media platforms, you could see people use it to pray for sb. or sth.  Nevertheless, some online citizens in other countries got confused when they noticed that: Why Chinese users repost sad news with Emoji "High Five"?  When being asked, Chinese online citizens were surprised and explained that they never knew or thought this Emoji is originally designed for celebrating or greeting.  The same situation applies to many other emojis as well. For example, an emoji intended to show speechlessness was interpreted by Arabic translators as saying 'No way! shocked'; and the symbol of a girl with crossed arms, meaning 'stay away from me', was translated into 'stop now' by Hindi translators and into 'Kung Fu fighting' in Spanish.

positive Emoji for negative meaning in Chinese 90s generation

      One emoji conveys distinct meanings in different generations as well.  According to a poll conducted in China, the smiley face, used by the generation before the 1990s to express friendliness or greeting, represents negative attitudes among younger individuals.  That means if a Chinese girl born after the 1990s says " I really had a great time today." with a 'smiley face' (as the one shown in the picture above), she really had a bad day.  People in other countries also suffer from the various personal interpretation of the same emoji.  A research conducted by University of Minnesota researchers shows that individuals do understand an identical emoji differently.  As shown in the graph below, this emoji ranks from the bottom of negative to the top of positive.  And there's also a video released by Jimmy Kimmel Live, talking about their interesting experiment about the same emoji meant to each person they interviewed randomly on the street:

      That different social platforms and phones have different appearances of emojis posts challenge for understanding and communicating effectively as well.  To illustrate, 'the grinning face with smiling eyes' is sketched variously on various platforms, as the image below shows.  The grinning face you send via your iPhone, which you mean negative feelings, might be understood as excitement by your friends who use Google Pixel series.

      Having realized potential misunderstanding and misinterpretation of emojis, many of you might question how emoji can be used for effective communication?  That's a tough question.  As to me, high cultural intelligence and prudence are necessary, especially between unfamiliar conversationists.  What do you think?