History has proven that some of the smallest ideas have led to the largest inventions that are used daily. Sometimes we don't even realize that our tiny ideas have such a large snowball fact. For example, take safety glass, safety Glass was actually discovered in 1903 by a spillage accident and is used every day to prevent countless deaths and injuries. We don't stop to think about how it was invented we just appreciate its existence.
Or take one of the most common antibacterials, penicillin, also an accident. A forgotten about petri dish led to the discovery of one of the most commonly used antibiotics. Sometimes the need to cure a small problem will lead to the invention of a new solution to a larger problem. Take the invention of the stethoscope. The scope was invented to hear the heartbeat of someone who had a large mass on their chest. It was a short-term solution, now it is found on the neck of every doctor in every hospital across the world.
Similar to the other inventions is the invention of the emoji. This might sound silly since we use it in almost every conversation on our smartphones. The invention of the emoji happened by accident. A group of bored Carnegie Mellon researchers wanted a way to communicate with each other without having others know their inside jokes. And so was born the emoji, common programming within each of their software so they could all receive and send art-filled expressions. This was later adopted by the Japanese creating a more fleshed-out version based on Magna Art. After then it took off in a lot of Asian cultures programming. Then they began to get the attention of big companies like Google and Apple, the implementation of emojis into the Unicode Standard cemented they were here to stay.
Soon after the big names implemented emojis into their programming, everyone in the world was using them daily. It all started because of a joke.
Sometimes we don't even realize how much they affect our communication, and then in turn our lives. Take this conversation below
Because of the emoji, one would assume that the date went bad because grinding of the teeth is normally associated with discomfort. However, based on people's personalities the uses and meanings of emojis can change, therefore, creating a totally different tone for the conversation. Imagine the emoji below instead of the teeth emoji.
A completely different tone is implicated.
Communication has changed a lot over the years thanks to emojis, in many ways it positively has affected society since they shorten the time it takes to send a message. In addition, it adds value by letting the recipient know the tone of the conversation and the overall mood. Companies have found that sending messages with emojis allows their customers to feel more connected. Emojis add great value to many conversations, however with great value also comes some disadvantages.
The disadvantages include stifling vocabulary, affecting formal communication, and possibly creating a communication gap. Emojis stifle vocabulary because they are conveniently implemented by the click of a button. Humans sometimes can be lazy creatures and will choose the convenient way. There is nothing necessarily wrong with this, however, vocabulary is the sacrifice. Instead of emojis people would have to write longer messages using complex adjectives to describe how they are feeling. Formal communication also takes a toll, emojis add a sense of ease and interpersonal connection. Most formal business communication venues do not have this element of friendliness. The objective is to get the job done in a formal respectful manner, sometimes since different cultures interpret emojis differently, the professional objective might not be represented. Lastly different generations are affected differently by emojis. Older generations have a harder time, in general, adapting to technology, emojis may complicate things even further.
In conclusion, a good rule of thumb is to think about the audience you're trying to reach when constructing text messages. Upon proper examination of the recipient one then can know what type of message to send, formal or informal, and whether or not to use emojis.
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