In modern dating, some unspoken rules can contribute to the success — or premature demise — of an early-days courtship. Most of us know the classics — don’t bring up exes in conversation too early, be available (but not too available) when making plans, and when it’s time to pay on the first date, at … Read more
A new batch of emojis has been approved for iOS 26. Surprisingly enough, Apple or Google isn’t the ones that decide which emojis come to your phone. That’s the job of Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit that maintains the Unicode Standard, the universal character encoding system that ensures text and emoji appear consistently across platforms and … Read more
Cherries, apple, lemon? A child safety expert has revealed the possible second meanings behind those seemingly innocent emojis your children are using — and moms and dads might be shocked by what they really infer. “Fruit emojis have various meanings, some a little more lewd than others,” said Aneeca Younas of FindMyKids, a parental control … Read more
Smiling at Gen Z? Better watch your back. What used to be the universal symbol of warmth and joy has taken a sinister turn — at least in the eyes of Gen Z. The classic smiley face emoji now means something completely different to those under 30. Instead of conveying happiness, the grinning yellow face … Read more
iPhone users have new ways to express themselves. The latest iOS 18.4 update quietly released eight new emojis for Apple devices, including a harp, a shovel, a fingerprint, a tree, a flag and a radish. However, there is one image in particular that has captured people’s imaginations: An “exhausted” emoji that features dark under-eye bags, … Read more
A picture — or an emoji — tells a thousand words. Amit Kalley, the founder of the organization For Working Parents, has issued an urgent warning to parents about the secret meanings of smartphone emojis that could be used by children to convey “sinister” messages. “The unregulated internet can be very dangerous for our children,” … Read more
A 5-year-old boy is devastated because he was covered by an emoji in his official class photo. After his mother’s attempt to protect his privacy online, and a series of miscommunicated messages with the school, the final photo makes his exclusion awkwardly obvious. “It’s all my fault. Nothing I can offer or say will make him feel better,” the Sydney mom … Read more
Four in 10 Americans believe a text feels naked without an emoji, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 Americans (aged 21+) revealed 41% of respondents believe a message needs to include an emoji to be complete. Younger respondents were most likely to agree with this statement: 70% of Gen Z said emoji needed … Read more
Emojis are part of our day-to-day conversations, though sometimes they can get lost in translation. There are often misunderstandings through emojis when communicating between generations, but there are also different meanings for some emojis across different cultures and countries. “People can attach all sorts of different second meanings to these little pictures,” Noël Wolf, a … Read more
Do you know what these emojis mean? Emojis have become a fun and quick way to communicate, but they can often cause confusion due to varying uses across cultures and generations. A new report from language education platform Preply found that 81% of Americans have been confused by someone else’s use of an emoji. Findings … Read more
Can you decipher these ancient hieroglyphics? In the age of hyper-evolving tech, the innovative emojis of today make those of yesteryear — read: 20 to 30 years ago — seem digitally prehistoric. Whether it’s texting your pals or drafting social media posts, a bevy of incredibly detailed emojis for every occasion are right at our fingertips, … Read more
The modern-day portrait is the Emoji Lisa. Lauren Edelstein has pulled countless all-nighters layering thousands of emojis on top of each other on her iPhone to create wacky celebrity portraits made entirely of the popular images usually relegated to social media and texts. “A lot of them I’ve worked on for months,” Edelstein, 38, told … Read more
An emoji used in a post-sex text message sparks widespread bafflement on Married At First Sight with clueless producers left no choice but to desperately recruit a Zoomer as the show’s new expert to decipher its hidden meaning. Speculation explodes at Wednesday’s dinner party about the cyber hieroglyph, with the group tossing up two translations: … Read more
They’re giving emojis a thumbs down. Gen Xers and baby boomers understand the meanings behind the digital icons, but they are not confident in their ability to use them, a new study from the University of Ottawa has found. “We found that older users are less likely to use emojis, use fewer emojis, and feel … Read more
As if anyone needed it, there’s a new way to kill time on social media. Instagram has hidden an emoji-based game within the direct messaging feature of their smartphone app — and people are beginning to notice it. To play, both iOS and Android users should open a message and draft and send a single … Read more
Grandma, did you mean to send that eggplant emoji? A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Nottingham found that older people tended to misuse emojis — such as surprised, fearful, sad and angry reactions — to express their emotions through texting. Many people use emojis in chats to add spice, laughter or … Read more
Gen Z isn’t peachy keen. Intraoffice communications have become increasingly informal in the post-pandemic workspace. Many 9-to-5ers of all ages, both in-office and remote, have come to rely on messaging platforms like Slack and Google Teams, as well as emails and texts to causally connect with colleagues, executives and clients on work-related matters. But when it comes … Read more
In a bid to promote inclusivity and challenge stereotypes, 10-year-old Teddy from England, has initiated a campaign urging Apple to redesign its “nerd face” emoji. Teddy, a proud glasses-wearer, finds the current emoji “offensive and insulting” due to its portrayal of prominent front teeth. Teddy revealed the motivation behind the campaign to the BBC, saying, … Read more
Royal blush! Prince William is getting cheeky, as the heir to the British throne recently revealed in a new interview that his most-used emoji is, well, very NSFW. “Is this a clean thing or is this a family one?” William, 41, joked during a Tuesday, October 10, appearance on the BBC Radio 1 show Going … Read more
What used to be seen as an innocent, fun way of communicating could now carry huge legal risks as cases involving emojis increase around the world. Within the last decade, more cases that involved the use of emojis have been accepted by courts as evidence in both criminal and civil cases, with extremely expensive consequences, … Read more