# Term2_2

Different preference of emoji selection in different cultures

First question, what is emoji? The most general definition is the small, two-dimensional pictographs developed from the emoticons - graphics composed of ASCII text that portray affective state through expressive faces, e.g. :-) or :-( (emoji, relational, value) And the cause of its occurrence is that When interacting via text-based communication, it can be difficult for speakers to convey their emotions due to the absence of nonlinguistic cues such as facial expression and body language. And people resolve this issue through using emoji.

There’s another form of the nonlinguistic cues we use in the text-based communication - meme / gif - captioned photos or videos Conventionally, meme is different from emoji. Because at the beginning, it was used on social medias like Facebook, Twitter, and it was intended to be funny, often as a way to publicly ridicule human behavior. However, meme/gif. gets more popular on instant messaging applications, (e.g. Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple Messages, Tinder, etc.) playing the same role as emoji. So we could not neglect this form while we discussing the nonlinguistic languages in text-based communication.
Also, in the same user platforms, for same usage, there’s another thing call ‘stickers’ - illustrations depicting a certain character’s different expressions or behaviours, like a more complicated version of emoji.

In China, the most mainstream messaging app is WeChat, and the most popular form of the nonlinguistic language is the DIY memes/gif. Usually, there’re three main categories: 1: screenshots or very short clips from popular films, dramas, cartoons, or any celebrities figure. 2: self-illustrated (doodled) characters. 3: photos edited/cropped from the users themselves or other internet celebrities. There’s no any fixed aesthetics among these meme/gif, some of them are cute, some of them are aggressive. However, the common ground among them is that they are all hilarious, mirthful and sarcastic.

In South Korea and Japan, the most mainstream messaging apps are Kakao Talk and Line, and the most popular form of nonlinguistic language is the sticker. Same as the other global messaging apps, the stickers are designed and released by the apps official store by collections (Most of them are free, some of them are paid). Generally speaking, the popular ones are designed in adorable, lovely aesthetics.

In the UK, in most of the messaging apps, although stickers and meme/gif are coming-up, emoji is still the most mainstream one.

First of all, what brings such distinction is the different user interface and user experience design. In WeChat, emoji, meme and stickers are in the same option level. It’s very convenience to use/collect/create the meme/gif. In the other global messaging apps, everytime you want to use a meme/gif, you’ll have to go to the gif menu, type in the keyword, then choose the one you want from the results. It’s not able to create a personal collection in the app to store/upload your favorite meme/gif. So you have to repeat the same full process to find the right one - or sometimes you would never find that again. In all, this less convenience and less customised user experience stops people using meme/gif as the main pictorial language in conversations.

Secondly, such distinction reveals the social and cultural atmosphere difference. I smell the spirit of DIY ethic from the popularity of DIY meme/gif. It responds to the grassroots culture (a local-level/subcultural collective, practical, anti-authority creativity) among nowadays Chinese. And the ‘adorable aesthetics’ stickers used among Japanese/South Korean (and Chinese) tells their relatively obscurer, modester, and more passive personalities, comparing with people from the western culture. Because emoji/sticker/meme plays a useful role in either controlling a conversational thread or in encouraging playful behaviour. It can be used deceptively in order to mask a speaker’s true feelings. (Kelly, 2015) Using cute emoji/sticker/meme is an effective way to keep the conversation eased, and wrap anything aggressive into a more tender/ ambiguous mask.

© bingcomputing 2019

Users can collect any other meme/gif from the conversation into their own favourite collection. And they also can make-upload their own ones in this collection.

stickers from Line APP.
And a Korean Youtuber discussed about the difference between Chinese and Korean emoji culture. (Click the image to access the video)

Kelly, R., Watts, L., n.d. Characterising the Inventive Appropriation of Emoji as Relationally Meaningful in Mediated Close Personal Relationships 7.

Glass, J., 2016. The 15 Most Hilariously Passive-Aggressive Emojis Ever [WWW Document]. Thrillist. URL https://www.thrillist.com/tech/nation/passive-aggressive-emoji-meanings (accessed 4.15.19).

References

I found that a user customised album offers more intimate and individual experience than a general searching engine.