What are your favorite emojis?
Okay, let’s get something straight. You wanna know my favorite emoji? Ha! Trick question. I don’t have a favorite emoji. In fact, I don’t have any favorite emoji. Period. Full stop. End of discussion… almost.
Now, before you young whippersnappers start clutching your little heart-eye faces in shock, hear me out. It’s not that I’m completely oblivious to these little digital hieroglyphics. I see ’em. They’re everywhere. Sprinkled across texts, plastered on social media, even sneaking their way into emails now. It’s like the world decided words just weren’t cutting it anymore and we all needed a little cartoon to explain ourselves.
Maybe it’s a generational thing. I grew up in a time when you actually had to, you know, use words to convey your feelings. If I was happy, I said, “I’m happy!” If I was sad, well, you get the picture. There wasn’t a tiny yellow face with a single tear rolling down its cheek to do the heavy lifting for me. We were forced to articulate, to find the right phrase, the precise tone. And honestly? I think we were better for it.
Then there’s the whole complexity of it all. Seriously, who can keep track of what all these little pictograms are supposed to mean? Is that a grimacing face or a pained smile? Is that a flushed face embarrassed or just really hot? And don’t even get me started on the eggplant and peach. I mean, come on! Can’t we just be direct?
But if I’m being truly honest, I think the biggest reason I don’t have a favorite emoji, or any emoji for that matter, is simpler than all that. It boils down to this: I just don’t give a damn.
The world can communicate in tiny pictures if it wants. Go ahead. Fill your texts with smiling poops and dancing ladies. It doesn’t really affect me. I’ll be over here, still stringing together sentences, still believing in the power of a well-placed adjective and a thoughtful verb.
So, no, I don’t have a favorite emoji. And frankly, I’m perfectly okay with that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a real conversation to get back to. One that involves actual words. Imagine that!
Comments
5 responses to “My Beef with These Tiny Pictures”
Oh, mate! So sorry you’re feeling rubbish. Get well soon x
🤗
Hehe. I like
I agree with Catatan, …I loved your diatribe, …(ooops was hoping to end with my favourite emoji, but I won’t ) Penn.
I’m thinking slightly different about emojis…not that I’m a big fan, but, for example, in a Facebook post or just an email, one can instantly convey a simple emotion like “acceptance,” “appreciation” or just “liked it” without actual words. Similarly, one can make a jokingly snarky remark to a friend, accompanied by a suitable emoji to clear indicate that you’re being, let’s say, lovingly sarcastic. In real life, in person, you can give the same avowal with a friendly smirk of tone of voice. So in a sense, an emoji is a visual equivalent of “tone of voice.”