Emoticons are now used worldwide. The first documented use of emoticon dates back to 1982. The first-ever emoticon used was “:-)” by Scott Fahlman as a joke maker. Now there are emoticons for every emotion out there. If you are happy to use 😀 and use 🙁 if you feel sad.

With the rise of the internet, cry face become famous in expressing emotions through the internet.  The graphical representation of text characters is known as ASCII art. It has been around now for many years. Emoticons, in simple words, means emotional icons (emotion + icon).

Do Emoticons Improve Our Communication?

This above-mentioned question is highly debated and has been studied by several professionals. On one hand, these emoticons act as a universal language and are understood by everyone around the world. And on the other hand, some say a limited range of emoticons restricts the choice of emotions expressed. Many researchers found that emoticons help increase the intensity when used in conjunctions with a written message.

Difference In Emoticon Use

There has been a notified difference in the use of emoticons communication between men and women. Females are considered to communicate more openly about their emotions more than men. This difference has been noted not only face to face but also during text messages.

Emoticons give men an opportunity to express themselves freely with the use of text symbols in a conversation. But these contrasting findings exhibit that the need for understanding the recipient’s way will interpret a message.

Uses Of Emoticons

The most common smiley emoticon “:-)” is used widely in almost all types of electronic communications. They can be inserted into communication in multiple ways. For example, to add a smiley type 🙂 and the application will do the job to convert it into an emoji liked.

Here are a few examples of emoticons and where they can be used.

So these were some of the simple emoticons that can be drawn with your keyboard easily. There are many more emoticons, known as Lenny’s face that is becoming popular, especially in WhatsApp. Create your own emoticon or simply copy-paste some from here.