The evolution of the internet gave rise to the emoticon, or 'emotional icon,' system of communication. Text-based emotional expressions, like:-) to show satisfaction, make email and instant messaging more personal by illustratively explaining what people frequently find difficult to communicate in words alone. 

Since emotions are so widely used, one New York hotel now allows guests to purchase room service by texting specific emotions. Important components of human communication have been lost as a result of using text messaging or talking on the phone. 

In a face-to-face interaction, verbal communication is used, and the tone of a person's voice can have an impact on what they mean. An individual's interpretation of a message can be dramatically altered by intonation, volume, and the emphasis placed on keywords. 

Even non-verbal cues, such as body language, can change or amplify a speaker's message. For instance, confident hand and arm gestures can portray an assertiveness that may inspire the listener to follow instructions, but uninterested body language may discourage one side from continuing a conversation with the other.

Where did emotions first appear?

ASCII art is the term for graphic representations created solely using text characters. However, Scott Fahlman, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, popularised the use of the portmanteau emotions (emotion + icons), who were first used in a message that he put on a bulletin board on September 19, 1982. 

Fahlman suggested using either:-( to communicate seriousness or:-( to indicate that a person was making fun of something in their communication. Although the meaning of these emotions has significantly evolved since then (now signifying happiness and sadness, respectively), they are now essentially understood by everyone, and there is now a whole lexicon of emotions available for users to utilise in communication.

Emojis and emotions: do they help us communicate better?

The issue of whether emotions improve communication or stifle self-expression is widely contested and has been the focus of numerous studies. On the one hand, symbols with widely recognised meanings enable us to communicate ideas without using complicated sentences. Since most people interpret emotions to imply the same thing, they also aid in reducing the ambiguity of a message's meaning among multiple parties. 

Emotions may aid in reiterating the meaning of a message, according to a study of secondary school pupils and their use of them. The 'intensity' of a written communication can be increased by adding emotions, according to research, when used in conjunction with the written message. 

However, there are disadvantages to utilising emotions to express emotions. A small selection of emotions makes it difficult to convey the whole spectrum of our feelings and does not take into account the nuances or intensity of the emotions we feel. 

For instance, Facebook's 'reactions' function only allows users to choose from one of six emojis, providing a varied but insufficient depiction of their emotions. The use of emotions and emotions also lessens the requirement for learning the writing abilities necessary to convey oneself in the absence of such terse means of communication.

Emoticon usage according to gender

Women are typically acknowledged as being more emotionally fluent in talks and eager to convey sentiments than men, who frequently 'bottle up' or hide emotions. Differences between how men and women express and communicate are extensively documented. This distinction has been seen in both in-person interactions and technological communications. 

In general, females are able to express themselves more than their male counterparts, according to a study that watched the conversation between instant messaging users. 

But when it comes to online communication, men and women use emotions slightly differently. Without the usage of emotions, females tended to feel envious during online discussions, according to a 2015 research of participants who used Facebook. 

However, when emotions were used, male users often felt envious of other users' messages (Hudson, 2015). 3 These opposing results highlight the need of anticipating the message's recipient's interpretation and being aware that it can vary from one's own intended meaning.