Smiley face emoji, SENT! But are you REALLY smiling?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Since ancient times, humans have used symbols to convey thoughts and feelings. The modern “emoji” is no different. But how might these images impact our mental health?
Moyu Liu at the University of Tokyo turned to everyone’s favorite keyboard to find out.
She investigated the impact of emojis on our emotional well-being. With over one thousand emoji users, she compared questionnaires on wellbeing and emoji usage. In addition, she compared private and public messages.
And? People who used emojis MORE had higher well being scores. This also tended to apply more to private conversation, rather than public context. This suggests emojis may help us express ourselves and connect better.
In a world of increasing online communication, it’s important to understand how our emotions might be impacted. Who knows, maybe something as simple as using emojis may help us improve our happiness!
Alright, heart-eyes emoji, TTYL!
Reference:
Liu M (2023) Are you really smiling? Display rules for emojis and the relationship between emotion management and psychological well-being. Front. Psychol. 14:1035742. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1035742