• snek_boi@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      It sounds like you don’t consider emojis appropriate. How come?

      Have an urgent message you want to send to someone who is not uptight or a snob? In the same way in which people smile to be kind or be welcoming, I use emojis:

      “Thanks for the file ☺️”

      In the same way that people mirror emotions, I use emojis: “I’m sorry about the presentation 😢” “Yeah. Those reports can take quite a while to digest 😅”

      In the same way that emotionally intelligent people are candid and therefore vulnerable and able to connect with others, I use emojis*: “It’s taking forever to load 😭” “I’m kinda nervous about tomorrow’s meeting 😬”

      *Of course, my dumb ass is far from emotionally intelligent. I just strive to create connection.

      I recognize that, at times, a social situation could seem to demand deference beyond emojis. At the same time, there are many situations where emojis could be appropriate. I am trying to let you see why and in what contexts someone would use emojis ☺️.

      Also, there’s the whole Poe’s Law issue. Emojis can help with clarity.

    • hikaru755@feddit.de
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      7 months ago

      So do you also expect everyone over 12 to always keep a pokerface in real life conversations, or is this rule confined to virtual spaces for some arbitrary reason?

        • hikaru755@feddit.de
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          7 months ago

          Well you’re also not going around holding written pieces of text to someone’s face to talk to them in real life, yet that’s how we’re communicating here, and you don’t seem to find that weird. It doesn’t need to be the same to be a helpful analogue. Sounds from your mouth -> written text, facial expressions and gestures -> emoji/emoticons. There’s actual research demonstrating that people actually do parse and react to emojis and emoticons in the same way they would to real facial expressions.