By: Giovanni Ngai
As of July 2023, Emoji’s impact on the world is slowly decreasing, up to the point that it is not a popular text convention anymore. Now, people are using abbreviations instead. People are beginning to think that abbreviations are able to show more than just emotions. Some common abbreviations that have been around for a long time are “LOL,” which means “laugh out loud,” and “OMG,” which means “oh my god.” Emojis, on the other hand, are facial expressions that express what the person is feeling. For example, a person who is happy would text a smiling emoji to their friend to tell them that he is happy.
Teens have increased their use of emojis lately. We Are Social’s chief executive officer, Suzie Shaw, said, “They’ve seen a significant rise in teens using acronyms as part of their text language, which has been highly influenced by TikTok” (Adella Beaini). Ms. Shaw explains that abbreviations can be more efficient than emojis at expressing whole sentences. Abbreviations also have a more specific meaning and are widely understood. Emojis, on the other hand, can often be misunderstood. That is why teens have increased the use of abbreviated text.
Emojis are slowly dying. “Emojis have gotten older and even though abbreviated words don’t show much emotion in a text, emojis aren’t really used so there’s no point keeping them around,” Zac Nowytarger, a twelve-year-old, states. He also said, “It’s quicker to write abbreviated words.” Some people agree with this statement because, in order to type an emoji on a mobile device, one has to press a key and then scroll through the 50+ choices to be able to express themselves, when they could have just typed a 3 to 6 letter abbreviation to express the same thing. That is why emojis are starting to become obsolete.
Emojis are “so dead” right now. TikTok has also impacted this, as it influences teens to use abbreviations more often. Emojis are slower to type and are often misunderstood by most people. But, at the end, it is always going to be up to one’s own opinion if they want to use emojis or not, and they will ultimately make their own statement about it. That person may just be like Zac and his buddies.
Links: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/02/1191667978/sag-aftra-foundation-donations