For my last post ever for the class, I’ll be focusing on what the future will mean for the emoticon. Certainly, it seems that the classic emoticon has shifted into the world of emojis. What does this mean? Well, for starters it shows how the use of simple keyboard buttons such as the colon and parenthesis can create a text response that physically displays emotions. As the evolution of emoticons continued, it progressed to create more complex emoticons such as the shrugging face:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ which kinda signifies a response of "I don't know" without even having to type the words. In cultures like Japan, emoticons or Kaomojis, are on a whole other level. The complexity of emoticons are endless, and the choices in emoticons are vast. Some on my favorite I've found are (◕ᴥ◕), 。.:☆*:･'(*⌒―⌒*))), (^_-)=☆, and ♪♬((d⌒ω⌒b))♬♪. Clearly, I think the cute and kawaii ones are the best.
As technology advanced, specifically the creation of iPhones, led up to the massive world-wide phenomenon of emoji use. On a global scale, it's hard to go one day without seeing those little pictographs somewhere. They changed the way people communicate, respond, and display emotion. I personally love emojis and I use them everyday, multiple times a day. I like them because they're easy to use, and they convey any emotion I'm trying to communicate to the person I'm talking to. I think one of the key reasons emojis are so popular is the fact that they add another level of politeness to the conversation. For example if you responded to a friend and said "sounds good." You are able to add another level of affection by adding an emoji and saying "sounds good. ❤"
For future implications on the way emoticons are heading, I simply think they are going to be even more involved in our daily lives then they already are. (Which is kinda hard to imagine.) But perhaps in children's books emojis could be used to help young kids understand what certain objects are. Like I said in a previous post, emojis are becoming the new universal language. If someone who came to American doesn't understand English, maybe street signs could incorporate emojis to signify what they mean. Of course, I have no idea if this will ever happen. But I do know emoticons will be ever changing, and will always be apart of our society now.



(Photo found at: http://www.hopesandfears.com/hopes/future/technology/168949-the-future-of-emoji)