More cute than classy, emojis weren’t always enthusiastically embraced by businesses. But as their popularity among smartphone users persisted, a growing number of brands warmed up to these colourfully cartoonish characters, in an effort to speak the language of their customers.

Studies by marketing agencies have crunched a compelling case for emojis. Their arresting presence in advertisements across online platforms have led to some:

Research by the Kinsey Institute – the birthplace of sexology – has found that singles who frequently used emojis when texting prospective dates, landed more repeat dates than singles who rarely did or used only text. Additionally, emoji enthusiasts reported having more sexual encounters than emoji irregulars and abstainers.

Before you think that emojis like the ‘Eggplant’ and ‘Peach’ played a decisive role in allowing users to convey their carnal desires without spelling them out, you might be surprised to hear that they can actually reduce dating success.

In a separate study by Adobe, the two filthy fruits along with the thirsty-till-you’re-creepy ‘Zany Face’ were ranked the top 3 emojis most likely to lower their senders’ attractiveness, when used for flirting and in conversations with (potential) dates. On the other hand, the ‘Face Blowing a Kiss’ , ‘Smiling Face with Hearts’ and ‘Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes’ were the best 3 emojis at winning their senders good vibes.

That ‘faces plus hearts’ outrank ‘private parts and horny looks’ in amorphous appeal accords with what the Kinsey researchers think emojis do: they help their users demonstrate greater affection in digital texts, improving the quality of their social interactions and increasing their opportunities for romantic intimacy.

Following England’s 2020 UEFA European Football Championship finals loss to Italy, thuggish England supporters were seen violently assaulting Italy fans, both at Wembley Stadium and on the streets of London.

This barbarism was mirrored online with the verbal assault of 3 Black members of the English team, who were flooded with abusive messages on social media, often accompanied by a string of monkey-related emojis. From to , these emojis were used as digital equivalents of the ‘monkey chants’ and banana throwing found at too many football matches, and the latest incarnation of the long Western history of dehumanising Black people as beastly primates.

Yet, when the BBC tried reporting one such message to Instagram, the platform responded that none of its community guidelines were violated – exposing its ill-preparedness in handling emojified racist slurs. (After the English Football Association, British government and royalty all condemned the hateful messages, Instagram’s head subsequently admitted that the platform was mistaken).

However, some platforms have started to clamp down on sexualised emojis. In September 2019, Facebook and Instagram updated their existing ban on sexual solicitation to include messages containing “contextually specific and commonly sexual emojis or emoji strings”. This effectively censored the predominant use of the ‘Eggplant’ and ‘Peach’ emojis to represent the penis and buttocks (and things done with them).

While some media outlets disagreed with the regulatory update, scholarly research has found that emojis are actively being used by convicted sexual predators in grooming conversations, and by sex traffickers to mask their communications (see McMahon & Kirley, 2019, for an overview).

COVID-19 has changed how we live and communicate in so many ways, including our usage of certain emojis.

Prior to the pandemic, the ‘Face with Medical Mask’ emoji was primarily used to convey illness – which meant that it wasn’t used very often. Well, that is until mask-wearing became an important public health measure for all, following the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 via respiratory droplets and aerosol particles.

The ‘Syringe’ and ‘Microbe’ were two other emojis that enjoyed a COVID-fuelled rise. The leapt in popularity as its predominant use changed from the drawing of blood to the critical need for vaccination (see word clouds below), while the sprung from near oblivion to become the emoji used to depict the coronavirus (more about its suitability in a minute).

Every year, lexicographers and editors at Oxford Dictionaries – long regarded the world’s most authoritative references on the English language – collectively name one “word or expression…judged to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of that particular year and to have lasting potential as a word of cultural significance”.

In 2015, following the sharp rise in the use of “emoji” globally, its most popular instance – the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ – was declared Word of the Year. Oxford Dictionaries explained that emojis had moved beyond the “preserve of texting teens” and were now used by everyone from public figures to household brands “as a nuanced form of expression” that helped to “cross language barriers”.

This historic decision left more than a few professional writers aghast by what they viewed as linguistic heresy. Articles expressing their bewilderment, derision, and utter contempt – at the brazen anointment of a graphical icon as the year’s defining word – promptly followed.

With COVID-19 restrictions forcing everyone indoors, more people are turning to social media to fill up their time. In this article, we analyse if social media serves as a welcome distraction and even a valuable educational tool, or a platform for bullies to strike and a fuel for mental health issues.