How Emojis Reveal My Age…
I’ve been on this earth for a decent amount of time, long enough to have experienced dial up internet, Snake on the Nokia (arguably the best game), and light up LED name belts (which I once owned).
Anyway, the point I’m making here is I AM A MILLENNIAL through and through!
I enjoy it here, I really do.
Being a millennial on my own terms; debunking the myths, legends, and stereotypes that plague my generation is also a form of advocacy I can stand behind.
However, in the “new age” there’s a few things I find hard to conform to; one of them being emojis…
Even when text messages had limited characters; I would type full sentences; refusing to “slang”, running up my phone bill in the process… Even back then, I knew my fate as a writer and took the role seriously; some would say too seriously, especially my cousin who would chastise me for typing “yes” or “yeah” instead of “yea” (insert eye roll here)!
Fast-forward to my mid-twenties when emojis were all the rage, I was dating, and receiving the most unique and unimaginable emojis from potential “suitors” used as substitutions for “real” conversation or expression.
I was out of the loop and found myself forwarding messages to my best friend to decode the emojis. But, nothing worked more effectively than just asking “what are you trying to say?”
As I evolved into the social (media) era, I learned through query and context clues what each of the most used emojis meant. I’m not completely in the dark ages; GIFS are definitely my thing!
Anyway, I thought I had everything under control, good conversation, a few GIFs here and there, which helped to mask my emojiless bliss, until…
I met the most beautiful soul one day! He was slightly younger, really wise, and alluring. We’d exchanged a few (full sentence) text messages. He had a decent command on our conversations, sharing trendy retorts, and like clockwork he hit me with an emoji!
His emoji of choice wasn’t as popular as the others. So here I was, back at square one with my finger hovering over the “?” ready to hit send!
At that moment, I knew I was moving like a relic in the flesh.
To hit send or not to hit send? That was the question.
Of course I hit send, I’m a conversationalist. I love to expand on thoughts and get further elaborations. Thankfully for me, he obliged. His explanation was cute. He even made me consider using the emoji going forward… But, did he convert me?
Not entirely! I did use it once or twice in his comment section, under a post, but that’s where I capped it.
Basically, what I’m saying is, my lack of emoji usage could be showing my age…
There’s definitely a science to using emojis and apparently they’re used as a form of nonverbal expression; similar to what we experience in face to face conversations; when we notice someone’s body language is closed off or a raised eyebrow enters the in real life (IRL) chat! That’s how many have been using emojis.
Maybe it’s my direct (and Harriet the Spy) nature that has me curious about the mind behind the emoji. I love thought exploration and to create safe spaces for people to be able to express themselves; putting masks aside and showing up as their true authentic selves; void of hiding behind emojis (and GIFs).
I think it’s cool to have fun and throw in a few emojis to spice up a conversation. But, I first boycotted the concept (and usage) of emojis when I noticed they were limiting my conversations and engagement. My mental stimulation was suffering, it required more than; 😍😂🍆🤪.
No seriously, here’s how I’ve translated emojis in the past…
😍 = Interest, liking what you’re seeing
❤️ = “love” real or vested interest
🤣 = Laughter and joy
😊 = Smitten like a kitten
😭 = Hysterical laughter
✨ = Glow up?
🙏 = Prayers up
💕 = Cute, form of affection, platonic love?
👍 = Passive agreement, “okay?”, “yep”
🔥 = “FYE”, “that’s hot”
😘 = Air kisses
😏 = Side-eye, skepticism, plotting
🥰 = Affection
🥺 = Mild seduction
I used to get so exhausted with emoji conversations that the thread would go unaddressed. This could be due to lifestyle and the pace of my day which welcomed voice notes to enter the chat!
Voice notes are so precious to me!
They have opened up such rich conversations and have made text messaging a delight!
I’m not opposed to receiving emojis, I just much prefer words!
You can call me a text message millennial-granny if you’d like…
Please share what your most used emoji is and what it means!
Just asking for a friend….