The language of emojis 🤷‍♀️

It's just been World Emoji Day on the 17th July (according to some higher power who has decided everything needs a 'day') - so what's all the fuss? Do we need them or even want them? Are they just a fad or truly here to stay?

I'm partial to the odd emoji myself. I think they add a bit of fun and a pop of colour into proceedings within a sea of monochrome... but only if they are doing something meaningful in the given context.

Is there such a thing as too many emojis?

I have previously blogged about The Assembly House, Norwich. Now, they are big fans of multiple weird and wonderful emojis in their social media posts. I personally think in that context it works well because it draws your eye in to what they have to say, which is often about food. The copy is fun and the emojis match that vibe. Their images are always full of colour and it just works as a package.

Latest example, hot off the press as I type:

Verdict: good use of emojis, even though there are a great many! This post uses them in place of bullet points, adding colour and intrigue to keep you reading right to the end. It is also interesting to notice that they enjoy a good pun and happily abandon Standard English to keep their punters engaged in the fun.

Kudos. It works.

Will emojis eventually replace the written word?

There are many factors at play here, such as the fact that lots of copy is churned out by AI these days. AI, so far, chooses to create content using words only, as far as I have ever seen. Imagine if they started to churn out riddles including a wave of small yellow faces and icons. Seems unlikely, but not out of the realms of possibility altogether.

On another note - as a trained primary teacher, I have worked really hard over the years to instil correct spelling and grammar into developing minds, so it would be pretty annoying for none of that to matter. I am also fully aware that teachers can only teach what is relevant to the world we live in at any given time, not what skills are needed for the future (other than decent habits as a human and the ability to keep learning for life, of course).

So, in summary, I'd say there is definitely a place for a well placed emoji to catch the eye or to instil further meaning to text, perhaps when tone of voice might not convey as the writer intends, which can otherwise lead to confusion. All good by me. Just don't let them swamp the meaning of words that are put together in a careful and considered way.

That would be 💩

😆 Share your views on these little page invaders. 👍 or 👎?