Fear of Emoji-ing
Not long ago there were several forms of communication commonly used: phone calls (just to say “hey”), letters from camp, postcards from vacationers, and even thank-you notes. But times have changed.
Today, instead of crafting a cumbersome handwritten note, you can simply communicate online or by phone with an emoji.
Occasionally, even I try to use emojis, but I must admit, it can be a nerve-wracking experience.
What’s there to be scared of?
What if I use the wrong emoji and instead of saying, “I agree with you wholeheartedly,” I make an obscene remark?
What if a friend tells me her cherished dog has gone to the Rainbow Bridge and instead of conveying sympathy, I use the “laugh till I cried” emoji?
There are so many possible horrific mistakes that I’ve actually developed a fear of emoji-ing. Last I counted, there are about 100 named phobias. What’s one more? Maybe someday “Emojiphobia” will take its place on the “List of Phobias” not far from “Ephebiphobia — fear of teenagers.” (Now, that one I can understand.)
Do you think I’m overreacting? I don’t think so.
Google knows.
Just Google “emoji mistakes” and you will get a list of articles on the proper use of emojis. And, in these articles, they call out lots of people on their emoji illiteracy. Of course, this leaves me wondering, isn’t it easier to just write out what I mean rather than learn about emojis? After all, I have been speaking and writing English for many years now.
Cool vs. irrelevant.
For me, the sheer existence of emojis presents two problems.
- If I don’t use emojis correctly, it will prove beyond any doubt that I’m not cool. (Come to think of it though, if I use emojis, I no longer need to worry about things like is the word “cool” still cool.)
- But if I don’t even attempt to use emojis, I may become irrelevant. (I think I could use an emoji here – I’m getting a little verklempt.)
Some history.
They created the first emoji back in 1999. By the 2010s, they added emojis to mobile operating systems. Today, it’s hard to imagine people communicating without them. As of October 2019, there were 3,178 emojis in the Unicode Standard.
Of course, this pales in comparison with the number of words in the Second Edition of The Oxford English Dictionary; that number is 171,476. But that doesn’t keep me from worrying. In 2019 alone, they put 168 new emojis into the Unicode Standard! How long before it catches up?
Are there options?
So, here’s the burning question: What are my options now?
Should I learn how to use all emojis properly, so I won’t become a laughingstock online? It would be time consuming.
Or should I risk inadvertently sending the wrong message even if it could cause someone emotional pain — or break up a friendship? (I didn’t mean to say I was glad you were far away. I wanted to say, “Wish you were here.” Really.)
Or can I keep my emoji use to a safe bare minimum?
Who knows how advanced the use of emojis will be in ten years? Maybe blog posts will simply be a series of emojis. Novelists will string them together to tell a story full of laughter and sadness. And no one will worry about punctuation or spelling, or grammar. It won’t even matter what language you speak; emojis are universal!
Hm . . . maybe emojis aren’t so scary after all.
Nope. They are.
And anyway, whatever I do, my daughter will never again think I’m cool.
Do you have a fear of emoji-ing? What’s the worst emoji mishap you were involved with?
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If you want a business blog but hate writing, I can help. Contact me at laura@lefreelancewriter.com.
Laura Elton is a full-time freelance content writer specializing in blog posts, website content, and articles. While she respects technology, her number one professional passion is always writing. Previously, as owner of Laura Elton Marketing & Web Design, Laura developed websites using HTML and CSS and wrote great content. Reach her at laura@lefreelancewriter.com.