Emoji Mix-ups

Emoji, which meanings can vary between platforms, can lead to miscommunication, a study finds.

18:05 14 April 2016

Emoji, which are typically used to help out people where language fails, may lead to confusion and miscommunication, a recent study has found.

 

Emoji can be confusing as not all people are sure exactly what they mean and also because they are drawn differently on every platform – from Apple to Twitter. These differences, regardless if they’re subtle, can result in confusion and miscommunication, a new study from the University of Minnesota has claimed.

 

As an example, if someone using an iPhone sends the “grinning face with smiling eyes” to a person using Samsung, the sender and the receiver will see entirely different pictures so the real message behind the emoji can be easily lost in translation.  And even when two people see the same exact emoji, they can still interpret it in wildly different ways.

 

In the study, the researchers asked participants to tell them what they think about five different versions of the 22 most popular emoji. It found that emoji are seen in varying ways. If someone looked at the grinning face with smiling eyes, for example, it can be interpreted as anything from positive to a little negative depending on which platform is being used.