Emojis are widely used on the internet. The word “emoji” comes from Japanese. It means “picture character.” Emojis are small images that can be sent within text messages. These images make it easier to conveyan idea or feeling without the need to type a lot of words. For example, if someone wants to express they are happy, they can send a smiling emoji. Or if they are laughing out loud, they can send the face with tears of joy emoji.
The first set of emojis was released in 1997 by the Japanese company SoftBank, previously known as J-Phone. The set included 90 distinct emoji characters in black and white. Since J-Phone experienced low sales, the emoji set was rarely used. It was not until Shigetaka Kurita created the 176 emojis for the Japanese phone company Docomo in 1999 that emojis became a worldwide phenomenon.
On almost every texting platform, there are now over 3,000 emojis to choose from. The images look a little different depending on the systems, such as iOS or Android, but they share the same meaning. New emojis are added every year to better represent things in the real world. The Unicode Consortiumis responsiblefor deciding which emojis get approved. Some new additions in recent years include a melting smileyface, an x-ray, and a coral reef.
