Insert the party hat emoji here because today is a day to celebrate the emoticons that we all love.
Today, July 17, is recognized as World Emoji Day (rightfully so since the iOS calendar emoji features this date), a day for the internet to appreciate the characters that have changed the way we communicate.
Emojis are now commonly used in emails, social media posts and of course text messages. And the types of emojis a person uses can reveal a lot about the individual's personality. For example, maybe someone is really upbeat and bubbly if that person is always using variations of the happy and excited smiley face emojis. It's also extremely obvious one is flirting if he or she uses the winking emoji or even go as far as to send the eggplant.
This can also be applied to dating profiles. Many users may include emojis to further show off their playful side or some of their hobbies or interests. This helps a potential match learn more about them without even realizing it.
"Individuals are looking for many different signals and cues when they're analyzing a person's profile, ranging from their bio to how they pose, and their expressions in a photograph," Tinder sociologist Dr. Jess Carbino told Tech Times. "When an individual chooses to put emojis in their profile, the emojis can provide a lot of potential information about who they are as a person."
For example, a person who uses a sports emoji is clearly interested in sports and may even be athletic. And this could help a match when figuring out options for a first date.
So in celebration of World Emoji Day, Tinder revealed the top 10 most popular emojis that are used in profile bios around the world in 2016.
The most used emoji on Tinder profiles is the smiling face, followed by the celebration hands and then the clinking beer.
According to the list, Tinder users seem happy, love food and drink and love to go out, down for a good time.
The list is as follows:
1. Smiling face
2. Celebration hands
3. Clinking beer glasses
4. Slice of pizza
5. Planet Earth
6. Smiling face with heart eyes
7. Musical notes
8. Cup of coffee
9. Glass of wine
10. Dancer
Carbino said that emojis can also encourage conversation, and help showcase personality — although she does suggest using them in combination with text, instead of just sending one emoji and nothing else.
Tinder users also don't want to bombard a match with too many emojis, especially those that are too suggestive when the recipient appears to be standoffish.
"Being conscious of the types of emojis you're utilizing and displaying is key. It's important to think about how your emojis may be interpreted by different people and what type of image you want to express about yourself," she said. "For example, someone could interpret the muscle flexing emoji to mean you're passionate about exercise whereas another person might think that you're more image focused."
Using emojis is fun when used correctly in conversations. Be mindful that certain people may take what the user is trying to say out of context, but allow the characters to help create a fun and engaging conversation.
"There is certainly a science to dating. When it comes to dating, the use of emojis provides people with fodder for conversations as well as a lighthearted way to express reactions or feeling," Carbino said. "Emojis can also help increase engagement, allowing users to spend more time messaging each other and perhaps lead them to feel less pressure during the conversation and ahead of meeting someone in person for the first time, which can often be intimidating."
Next time a Tinder match sends a message, make sure to add an emoji or a few ones into the conversation.
Photo: go digital | Flickr
