A brief history of emoji

An emoji is ‘a small digital image or icon used to express an idea or emotion in electronic communication’; the term emoji is a loanword from Japanese, and comes from e ‘picture’ + moji ‘letter, character’. The similarity to the English word emoticon has helped its memorability and rise in use, though the resemblance is actually entirely coincidental: emoticon (a facial expression composed of keyboard characters, such as ;), rather than a stylized image) comes from the English words emotion and icon.

Emojis are no longer the preserve of texting teens – instead, they have been embraced as a nuanced form of expression, and one which can cross language barriers. Even Hillary Clinton solicited feedback in the form of emojis, and 😂 has had notable use from celebrities and brands alongside everyone else – and even appeared as the caption to the Vine which apparently kicked off the popularity of the term on fleek, which appears on our WOTY shortlist.

How does your student loan debt make you feel?

Tell us in 3 emojis or less. — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 12, 2015

emoji nobody needs: ????????????????????????????????

emoji everybody needs: ????????????❤???? — Domino's Pizza (@dominos) July 28, 2015

Now that we’re all used to emojis being a shorthand method of communicating our thoughts, emotions, and responses, it made us wonder: what would it look like if you used emojis in real life? Our video imagines what exactly would happen.