What Are Emojis and Why Do We Use Them?
These little visual symbols have been around for decades - emojis were originally developed in Japan in the late 1990s. Now, emojis have evolved from simple emoticons into a visual, global language capable of representing just about any expression, emotion or activity you can think of. To date, there are a staggering 3,790 emojis across numerous categories and more are added every day. They enhance all kinds of communication from the personal to the professional:
- A single emoji can replace an entire sentence: a quick 'thumbs up' says, "yes, I agree" much faster than typing it out.
- They help bridge language and cultural barriers: even if you can't say "hello" or "yes/no" in another language, everybody recognises a smile, a laugh or a wave.
- Emojis can soften the tone of messages, adding warmth and personality where plain words might feel a bit blunt or over formal.
- They reduce the misunderstandings that frequently occur in text messages by giving emotional context: a smiling face can prevent a message being taken the wrong way.
Tips for using emojis
- Use emojis to clarify tone in professional messages, but do not overdo it
- Different platforms may display the same emoji slightly differently
- Consider cultural differences when using emojis internationally
- Combine emojis to create visual stories or enhance your social media captions
- Use emoji reactions to quickly respond without typing
How to Use Emojis
On most devices, you can access an emoji keyboard or picker that lets you browse and select emojis by category. Simply click or tap the emoji you want, and it will be inserted into your text. On this page, you can click any emoji to copy it to your clipboard, then paste it anywhere you need. The emojis work on both Windows and Mac, as well as desktop and mobile devices (both iOS and Android) and across social media, messaging and gaming platforms.