The authors found that not only do women appear to use emojis more than men, people deemed to be of higher emotional intelligence may also employ emojis more frequently. — Photo by Emojisprout emojisprout.com on Unsplash
WASHINGTON: To some people, emojis in text messages and online chatting are the refuge of the illiterate and the inarticulate; to be used sparingly, if at all.
To adherents, they are an alphabet unto themselves, replacing the body language and tone of voice that is lost in digital communication.
Recent research would appear to be lending support to the use of emojis, however: "Higher emotional intelligence is linked to more emoji use with friends, while avoidant attachment is associated with less emoji use with friends and dating or romantic partners," say researchers at Indiana University and the Kinsey Institute in the US.
Defining emotional intelligence as "the ability to process and manage one’s emotions and those of others," the team surveyed over 300 participants for research published in PLOS One, a science and medical journal.
The authors found that not only do women appear to use emojis more than men, people deemed to be of higher emotional intelligence may also employ emojis more frequently.
"It is not just a smiley face or heart emoji: it's a way to convey meaning and communicate more effectively, and how you use it tells us something about you," the team said, although neither their statement nor their 14-page research paper contained any emojis.
The research was published less than a month after several animated (not by emojis) discussions on Reddit and on social media about how some in the Generation Z age bracket are increasingly attaching "dismissive," "passive aggressive" and even "sinister" connotations to some widely used emojis, such as the thumbs-up and smiley face. – dpa/Tribune News Service
