I think the usage of emojis is very comparable to reading an alethiometer, in that the symbols have many completely unrelated meanings, and the reader has to use their context and combination in order to understand the message. Also apparently only children can read them and understand them intuitively, whereas an adult has to build up an encyclopedic knowledge base to read on the same level.
The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
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Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Emojis are nonverbal communication, much like any other. Just like it's best to be a little clinical or impersonal when meeting someone new (depending on context), it's best to be a bit reserved with emoji use. I use a very limited set in work chats, and a pretty wide set with my personal relationships. That's not a flaw of emojis, it's just how communication works.
Yes, I understand that completely. I wasn't saying emojis were flawed, I'm saying that I dislike them because they frequently cause misunderstandings. Sometimes serious misunderstandings. I limit mine to the very basic ones that everyone understands. Smiley, Laughing, and Sad Face. I use the thumbs-up to quickly say "OK", too, but only with my friends.
> I use the thumbs-up to quickly say "OK", too, but only with my friends.
Depending on the age of your friends and the context, that could be causing misunderstandings too. "Thumbs-up emoji" can be read as a very passive-aggressive response outside of a work setting!
The important thing though is that words also cause confusion; emoji aren't uniquely ambiguous. Ideal communication is multi-modal; emoji are very often used to clarify the meaning of text.
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#13there are definitely a few missing from the "not used as intended" list
also, are they really counting "rebirth" as an incorrect interpretation of the phoenix emoji? what is even the purpose of a phoenix emoji outside of that context.
and those head-shaking ones are just objectively terribly designed
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#14I think the usage of emojis is very comparable to reading an alethiometer, in that the symbols have many completely unrelated meanings, and the reader has to use their context and combination in order to understand the message. Also apparently only children can read them and understand them intuitively, whereas an adult has to build up an encyclopedic knowledge base to read on the same level.
Egyptian hieroglyphs did actually exist. They had ideological and phonetic uses, and they weren't fixed.
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#15there are definitely a few missing from the "not used as intended" list also, are they really counting "rebirth" as an incorrect interpretation of the phoenix emoji? what is even the purpose of a phoenix emoji outside of that context. and those head-shaking ones are just objectively terribly designed
To refer to the city in Arizona?
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#16A huge percentage (most?) emojis are unhelpful precisely because their meanings are unclear. If they're from someone I've interacted with enough then I learn how to decipher what they mean by different ones, but if I've not then it's too risky to try and guess. This aspect of emojis is why I dislike them.
They are helpful because they are unclear. There are cases where a bit of ambiguity is useful or you don't know exactly what to say. Face to face this can be solved with expressions, gestures etc. But in text form it's more difficult and emojis can help a bit.
> They are helpful because they are unclear.
Except their usage is often too unclear for the recipient. If that praying emoji after a request means they are praying for me to fullfil it? Or they just namaste me? Or they need that request fulfilled because they highly depend on it?
If someone tags my message with a clown emoji - does that message brought extreme joy to them or should I find them to talk face to face with them?
Some emoji are helpful by adding the non-verbal context. Some aren't.
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#17> To find out the most confusing emojis in 2024, we at Preply took the top ten most confusing emojis from 2023 and surveyed respondents again about their meaning. We then used standard deviation to analyze answer choices to figure out which ones puzzle Americans the most. … how do you stddev on multiple choice…? But take the rank 2 emoji, "gust of wind"; I would say the top 3 choices are all pretty valid … depending…
> The thing about emoji is that they're highly contextual.
Same with the flying money emoji. It's on the list as confusing, but it lists "gaining money, losing money, and transferring money" as 85% of meanings. Context clears up which one of those it is
It clearly means "money is flying" but it leaves the direction of flight to context.
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#18What an idiotic article - we surveyed a bunch of people and because their answers didn't correspond exactly with the title an an emoji we concluded that they were, in some way, wrong/confused about it. Regardless of whether or not, in certain contexts, people actually use that very emoji to convey some of the 'wrong' sentiments.
This has the air of science research conducted by a 12 year old blogger and dressed up as content.
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#19Should we expect the rise of the descriptivist emojians vs prescriptivist ones?
Re: The most confusing emojis in every US state in 2024
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I understand that completely. I wasn't saying emojis were flawed, I'm saying that I dislike them because they frequently cause misunderstandings. Sometimes serious misunderstandings. I limit mine to the very basic ones that everyone understands. Smiley, Laughing, and Sad Face. I use the thumbs-up to quickly say "OK", too, but only with my friends.
> I use the thumbs-up to quickly say "OK", too, but only with my friends. Depending on the age of your friends and the context, that could be causing misunderstandings too. "Thumbs-up emoji" can be read as a very passive-aggressive response outside of a work setting! The important thing though is that words also cause confusion; emoji aren't uniquely ambiguous. Ideal communication is multi-modal; emoji are very often…
> Depending on the age of your friends and the context, that could be causing misunderstandings too.
That's why I only use it with my friends. The meaning in my social circle is very clear because we all use it for exactly the same purpose.
Of course emojis aren't the only ambiguous communications. Words can be as well, although you can almost completely eliminate ambiguity with words. It's hard to do that with emojis.
> emoji are very often used to clarify the meaning of text.
My observations are that outside of the most basic emojis, they are more likely to confuse me than to clarify.
I really do, 100%, understand why people use emojis. Honest. I'm not saying they're bad and shouldn't be used.
I'm just saying that (outside of the basic ones) I find them to be misleading and confusing so much that I don't dare use them and gave up putting in the work trying to decipher ones when their meaning isn't immediately obvious to me.
No harm done. People can use emojis all they want, and when people use them with me, I certainly don't comment about it. I'm often not fully understanding their meaning, but that's actually fine. If it's something important, they're very likely to say it in other ways as well.