Adobe Surveys 5,000 Users
Adobe has released its US Emoji Trend Report, looking at the role and impact of emoji in digital communication. The report, based on a survey of 5,000, finds that 91% of US emoji users agree emoji make it easier to express themselves and 71% agree inclusive emoji can help spark positive conversations about cultural and social issues.
The majority of US emoji users agree we should strive for more inclusive emoji representation (83%), which is in line with the release of Unicode 15.0, which will introduce new emoji including the maracas, flute, khanda, hair pick, pink heart and folding hand fan. States Adobe: “US emoji users see significant benefits from including emoji in their digital messaging… This fun, fast and friendly form of communication has transformed the way Americans express themselves and continues to push the boundaries on how U.S. emoji users bridge conversations across age, race, culture and beyond.”
Among the report’s findings:
- 60% of US emoji users agree that using emoji in their communications has improved their mental health.
- Emoji foster empathy, understanding and connection with the majority of US emoji users agreeing that emoji make it easier to communicate across language barriers (92%) and that they are more likely to feel empathetic toward someone if they use an emoji (88%).
- Emoji can make or break relationships. 72% of US emoji users use emoji in conversations with someone they’re interested in flirting with or dating, two out of five Gen Z’ers would not pursue a serious or long-term relationship with someone who did not use emoji, and nearly a third of users say someone has used an emoji to end a relationship with them.
- 71% of US emoji users say they use emoji at work, and 53% of US users report that they’ve increased their emoji use at work in the last 12 months. Using emoji at work helps users quickly share ideas (79%), makes team decision-making efficient (62%), and reduces the need for meetings and calls (47%).
- More than half of US emoji users are willing to purchase an item using an emoji; other expanding uses include creating user names with a string of emoji, visiting website URLs made of a string of emoji, and communicating with the doctor using emoji.
- The least favorite emoji are – wait for it – the pile of poo followed by angry face, flushed face and eggplant.
“As a visual form of communication, emoji help fill the emotional gaps when representing ourselves online and help us communicate our personal identities, thoughts and feelings in ways words often cannot,” said Paul D. Hunt, typeface designer and font developer at Adobe.
