Emoticon Use in Mobile Communications :-)

Abstract

Following the ubiquitous spread of smartphones across the world, an increasing amount of communications are conducted through text-based media (e.g., text messaging, email, social media, etc.). As such, important non-verbal information ordinarily conveyed through means such as facial expressions and body language can be absent. This can have a profound effect on the connectedness of a group, and can contribute to misunderstanding in interpersonal communications. However, emoticons have been used to provide this missing socio-emotional information and to help enhance the subtle interpretation of electronic communications. This article describes the content of current research into emoticon-use, including the parallels between emoticons and face-to-face non-verbal communications, the effect of gender and cultural differences on emoticon-use, and emoticon usage in media accessed through mobile technology. Given the high volume of mobile communications—and well-documented usability problems with regard to typing long messages on small screens—this article concludes with the suggestion of deeper integration of emoticons and mobile communication, as well as indications for future research.