Use of Emojis in Digital Communications: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the use emojis in social media interaction; to identify how they are used to deliver messages; and if they can as well cause communication barrier. It aims to discover if emojis deliver different messages and to identify the emojis used in such manner. Data for this study were collected from WhatsApp interactions of students in Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, and University of Benin. The direct observation method was used for data collection, whereby the use of emojis among the participants was observed. Using the purposive sampling method, twenty-five (25) interactions that reflected the use of five emojis to communicate different messages were selected and screenshot for easier and more effective analysis. The data were qualitatively analysed, using the representational meaning tenet of Kress and van Leeuwen Visual Grammar as the theoretical anchor. The study discovered that emojis can be used to deliver messages that do not coincide with their physical forms. It also discovered that emojis, such as “Folded Hand”, “Loudly Crying Face”, “Face with Tears of Joy”, “Woman Dancing”, and “Rolling on the Floor Laughing”, were each used to deliver different messages in different contexts. The study, therefore, concluded that information delivered with an emoji can be lost or misinterpreted when there is a discrepancy between its physical form and the encoded meaning. It recommends that researchers should find out why students choose particular emojis when they are communicating.