Emojis: A New Efficient Way To CommunicateTechnology by Rosemary Shears - September 29, 20200 Language can come in many forms. There are roughly 6,500 languages that exist in our world today. Most individual countries and the different cultures that they encompass, have their own form of language, and each and every one of these languages has made this world a more diverse and beautiful place. Birth of EmojisIn the beginning, language wasn’t as intricate and complicated as it is now. Back then, in ancient times, the language of humans was mostly comprised of clicks and grunts, and it mostly relied on body language. Then eventually language evolved, and from then on, it progressed throughout the years and it has come to be the way it is now.Nowadays, here in the modern world that we live in right now, a new and a more efficient form of language has been conceived and popularized…Emojis! Emojis can be used in thousands of ways. For example, if someone is bothering you or being inappropriate you can now easily send an idk emoji to quickly point out that someone else is being unpleasant or ignorant in a decent way since you don’t have to look mean by not using the exact words.What are EmojisEmojis are small graphic images that are used to represent the weather, animals, objects, occasions, and buildings, and are also used to convey an array of human emotions. Emojis were developed to be mostly used on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. They follow a coding standard called Unicode, which means that you will most likely be able to read an emoji the way it was meant to read, no matter what device you are using. Emojis are considered to be an image-based form of language which can sometimes convey meaning and emotion more concisely than written text. Sometimes, emojis can even be used as a substitute for words or can be used to replace whole phrases. Online CommunicationsBecause of this, online communication has undergone a significant change. Due to the increased popularity of the use of emojis, conversations have now become more fast-paced and rapid. Messages have gotten shorter and shorter. They have become more streamlined and concise. Particularly in social media.There are even certain people who don’t even bother to use words at all. They just choose an appropriate emoji that represents the message that they want to convey and then they’re done. They spend less time and effort when doing so because after all, it is definitely much easier to pick a particular emoji and send it, rather than stressing out your mind to find the right words to use. Want to tell someone that you agree with what they had said? Use a “like emoji!” You shouldn’t even bother to use written text.TakeawayIn all seriousness though, it is be understood that even though emojis have the capability of substituting written text, it is quite unlikely that we are going to stop using written language altogether. The use of emojis is seen more prevalently as a more expressive form of language. It is used as a complement to language or an add-on, rather than an actual replacement. This image-based or symbol-based form of language helps us express our emotions better and in a more creative way when used together with plain written text.Written language will still serve as our primary means of communication, aside from spoken language. But it can’t be denied that emojis are indeed a new and efficient way to communicate, and they are slowly changing our lives for the better.