In our lives, we are constantly bombarded with new innovations and technologies that help make our lives easier. Progress in medicine, in travel, and various other aspects of our days are growing and growing. However, one of the most influential creations in my life in the past several years has nothing to do with these. I have never been totally floored by something as much as I have with these tiny creations known as emoji.
Emoji are tiny pictures used primarily in texts and tweets that help convey an emotion, action, or even something as simple as a food item. Amazing, right? I'm feeling sleepy and want my sister to bring me a sandwich. Boom, emoji.
With just three emoji I have relayed my tragedy to my sister and she swiftly replies with a "Nah." Groundbreaking! I never knew something so simple would make such a huge mark in my life, but emoji have done just that. Tweets can tell a whole story without approaching the 140 character mark. Thousands of text messages become one hundred percent more bearable.
I love to see the creative ways my friends use the emoji to tell their story. I think it says a lot about them and their interests. I love all emoji, with one major exception; the crying while lauging emoji. Do not get me started on the crying/laughing emoji. It is severely overused. Can I get an "Amen"?
It's like what the radio did to Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me, Maybe." A wonderful pop song played to death until the mere mention of it sends me into a downward spiral of bitterness and hate. I'd compare it also to the use of "LOL" or "ROFLOL" or "LMAO." All lies. You are not laughing out loud. You are not rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Your derriere is very much intact. All popular phrases that once began as a somewhat accurate portrayal of how you felt about a joke have now been turned into a "necessary" reply to any simple pun that your bestie came up with.
I just used the word "bestie." Who am I? What have I become? What have emoji done to me? What has society done to me? Maybe it's time to take a step back from emoji. Their brevity makes communication simple, but where will this brevity end? I don't want to live in a world where saying "best friend" takes too much time out of my life. If I must shorten this word to "bestie," what's to stop me from shortening that to "best" or "be" or "b"? Nothing. Nothing at all.
So, kids, remember, the next time you go to use an emoji, think of the children.
