The messages on a typical cell phone consist of a smiley face emoji, heart emoji, or even the silly poop emoji. Also known as emoticons, emojis are fun small icons that people use to communicate online. After Apple promoted it, emojis have become widely used as a means to add a little something extra to a text message.

The origin of emojis comes from Japan in the late 1990s. Later on, Apple incorporated emoticons into their devices, like iPhones and iPads. In 2005 with Apple’s IOS 5, the emoji keyboard became easily added and accessible to iPhone users. Thus began the obsession of emoji use on mobile devices.

In 2015, Apple released their announcement for a brand new set of emojis. Before the revisement, the character emojis were only a fair skin tone. Many users felt excluded and asked for a more equal option. Rather than one single skin color, there would now be different skin tones to accommodate all emoji users, from light to dark. In addition, people requested more emoji additions to food, animals, and miscellaneous sections. Some new additions included the unicorn, avocado, and a black heart.

Without a doubt, emojis are a fun way to bring personality into texts. Online, such as on cell phones or computers, chatting can always lead to misinterpretations between the two people. This is because people can’t differentiate between tones, such as happy or angry, on mobile devices. In person, people differentiate tones through facial expressions and body movement. Funnily enough, adding emojis can ensure that emotions can be expressed and thus prevent misinterpretations. Juliette Fournier (10) says, “I like to use emojis when I text so that people get an idea of my reaction to the text. My favorite emoji to use is the cry laughing face!”

Just recently, Apple posted a YouTube video announcing “stickers.” Stickers is a brand new feature that comes with Apple’s IOS 10 or iPhone 7. Basically, it is a new set of keyboard, similar to the emoji keyboard, where users can drag stickers to their iMessages. These stickers are ideal to express emotions or add small comments. Some of these sticker packs include memes, cartoons, and animated animals. To use, download a sticker app, add it to your keyboard, and stick away!

In the end, emojis are a fun and easy way to add personality to text messages and other mobile apps. Fun, cute, and silly, emoticons are a great way to light up a conversation!