What Words Can’t Say

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to survey the moral psychology of emoji, time-restricted messaging and other non-verbal elements of nominally textual computer-mediated communication (CMC). These features are increasingly common in interpersonal communication. Effects on both individual well-being and quality of intimate relationships are assessed. Results of this assessment are used to support ethical conclusions about these elements of digital communication. Design/methodology/approach Assessment of these non-verbal elements of CMC is framed in light of relevant literature from a variety of fields, including neuroscience, behavioral economics and social psychology. The resulting ethical analysis is informed by both Aristotelian and Buddhist virtue ethics. Findings This paper finds that emoji and other nonverbal elements of CMC have positive potential for individual well-being and interpersonal communication. They can be used to focus and direct attention, express and acknowledge difficult emotions and increase altruistic tendencies. Research limitations/implications This paper is conceptual, extrapolating from existing literature to investigate possibilities rather than reporting on novel experiments. It is not intended to substitute for empirical research on use patterns and their effects. But by identifying positive potential, it can help both users and designers to support individual and relational well-being. Practical implications The positive effects identified here can be incorporated into both design and use strategies for CMC. Social implications Situating ethical analysis of these trending technologies within literature from the social sciences on the effects of stylized faces, disappearing messages and directed attention can help us both understand their appeal to users and best practices for using them to enrich our social lives. Originality/value The paper uses empirically informed moral psychology to understand a deceptively trivial-looking phenomenon with wide-ranging impacts on human psychology and relationships.

A Systematic Review of Emoji: Current Research and Future Perspectives

“…For example, some uncivilized use of emoji can harm public consciousness, a point which is not yet appreciated by the public (Zerkina et al, 2017). Other researchers believe that the popularity of emoji reflects multicultural communication and cultural globalization (Skiba, 2016), and that there is some unconscious power behind the use of non-verbal cues like emoji (Elder, 2018), which strengthen the inequality and exploitation of our social system (Stark and Crawford, 2015). For example, Leslie (2019) argues that the quantitative use of emoji in the workplace (such as the use of emoji to give ratings) has turned the employee into something like an on-the-shelf item in a digital economy warehouse, affecting their freedom.…”

Accommodated Emoji Usage: Influence of Hierarchy on the Adaption of Pictogram Usage in Instant Messaging

“…Older people use less emoji than younger ones (An et al 2018), females tend to use more emoji than males do (Chen et al 2017) and also, personality influences emoji usage . Elder (2018) argues that receiving messages with emoji have a positive influence on how the receiver perceives, interprets and replies. Receivers tend to be more altruistic, honest and generous in case they received a message that includes face emoji.…”

“…Receivers tend to be more altruistic, honest and generous in case they received a message that includes face emoji. Those emotions, again, have a positive effect on the answer and can support relationship building as well as friendship strengthening (Elder 2018). Perceiving facial expressions leads to interpersonal social mechanisms like emotional contagion and supports relationship building (Lohmann et al 2017).…”

The Usage of Emoji in Tourism-Related Instagram Posts: Suggestions from a Marketing Perspective

“…Meanwhile, although earlier literature has discussed Instagram advertising of DMOs [1,12] and highlighted the vital role of user-generated content (UGC) on destination image formation [2,13], the relation of user-generated content and the usage of emoji in tourism-related posts on Instagram is still an underexplored area. Likewise, while some scholars have looked into emoji and their meaning in regard to customer attention [14,15], there are limited studies that focus on emoji and their impacts on the efficiency of tourism-related advertisements, especially on Instagram [16].…”