Effects of Emoji Usage on Perceptions of Sender
Abstract
While texting gains traction as one of the most prevalent forms of
communication, emojis – small digital icons used to express emotions and
represent faces, weather, animals, plants, activities, and more – have become
popular substitutes for the visual cues missing from text-based communication.
Despite their pervasiveness and proposed role in enabling users to perform the
“emotion work” required for interpersonal impression and affinity development,
the effects of emoji usage on perceptions of the sender are not thoroughly
examined, especially outside of the workplace. The current study employs a self-administered, mixed experiment to determine the effects of emoji usage –
specifically emoji valence, emoji type, emoji alignment, and sender type – on how
likable and intelligent the receiver perceives the sender to be, as well as the
receiver’s emotional connection to the sender. The study indicates that emojis are
not inconsequential when it comes to social perception – although gender and
relational attributes are important moderators of what is perceived as desirable for
emoji usage. The findings have implications for improved digital impression
management and contribute to a theoretical as well as empirical understanding of
how emojis affect perceptions of the sender.