Lost in Emoji Translation: New Study Cautions Smartphone Users

April 10, 2016

Source: grouplens.org
Ever sent a happy-faced emoji to your BFF only to hear back, “What’s wrong?” According to a new study from the GroupLens research lab at the University of Minnesota, that might be more common than you’d think. The study finds that texting emojis from one smartphone platform to another can create unexpected miscommunication, because each smartphone platform has its own emoji keyboard.
In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter how you’d interpret something like — poop face emoji, ok symbol, pointing finger — it’s probably nasty and you probably shouldn’t be sending that to any people, regardless of the type of phone they use. But the differences in emoji keyboards could lead to some unexpected awkwardness. No, I’m not talking about getting a text from your mom with an eggplant emoji / peach emoji combo (that’s a weird grocery list, mom) — the most basic emoji faces are the ones that cause the most trouble.
Source: grouplens.org
So, before you confess your feelings to your Android-using crush from your Google Nexus, entirely in emojis…maybe consider using real human words. Have you had any awkward convos as a result of an emoji mishap? Let us know in the comments.