When was the last time you went a whole day without using an emoji? Whether to help you with something as trivial as making a text seem less passive-aggressive than you mean it or even something more earnest, they do their job in helping you communicate in a more effective way than words ever could.
As they say, an emoji is worth a thousand words.
World Emoji Day falls on July 17th, and after surveying over 7,000 emoji users worldwide, Adobe has released its 2021 Global Emoji Trend Report. Filled with compelling findings such as users' top five favorite emojis," 😂 (#1), 👍 (#2), ❤️ (#3), 😘 (#4), 😢 (#5)" and the three most globally misunderstood emojis,"🍆 (#1), 🍑 (#2) and 🤡 (#3)," the report is sure to give you insight and perspectives that you never thought you needed to know.
While emojis often seem trivial, the report also shares statistics on how those tiny characters can help your mental health. Over half of the people that use emojis worldwide agreed that the addition of emojis in their digital communications impacted their mental health, and over three-quarters of global users agree that emojis create a more united, respectful, and understanding environment.
Adobe's typeface, font developer, and creator of the gender-inclusive emoji Paul D. Hunt will also be featured in the documentary By Design Heroes: Emoji to share his perspective on the 2021 Global Emoji Trend Report findings. The documentary will air on July 17th on CBS LA and SF/Bay Area at 9:30 pm PST.
Next time you're writing a text message or sending a Slack message to a coworker, think more profoundly about what it is you're trying to communicate and how emojis are making it possible; it'll surely be an interesting perspective shift.
And remember, according to the report, over half of emoji users believe that people who use emojis in their texts or emails are nicer than people who don't. 😊
