A study by Samsung has revealed that almost nine in ten Britons prefer using emojis to express their emotions over talking to people face to face. The tech giant found that 87 per cent of people said they found it easier to show emotions with visual aids such as emojis and memes.
According to The Mail Online:
One in ten would even prefer to dump their partner using a GIF, a short repeating video.
The Samsung poll of 3,000 Britons found GIFs are being used by 81 per cent to express emotions on a regular basis.
Digital expert Professor Vyvyan Evans said smartphones had changed human interactions ‘immeasurably’, adding: ‘Emotions and feelings can now be conveyed instantly to others in a single powerful visual.’
Prof Evans added: ‘Since the advent of the smartphone human communication has changed immeasurably.
‘GIFs, memes and emojis are the “language” of the internet, and have become the bedrock of popular culture, fundamentally transforming how we communicate with people on a daily basis.’
With over 10 billion Gifs in circulation and over two million sent every day, 81 per cent of respondents said they used the format on a regular basis.
On average, Britons send four Gifs a day, with happiness and love the most likely emotion they try to express.
I’ve never sent a Gif in my life, although I do punctuate some text messages with a shamrock or a heart emoji.
Samsung’s findings make perfect sense to me. Human interaction/communication has been moving online for years now.
Covid-19 has certainly expedited that process.
Wait until the Metaverse is fully up and running. Maybe, at some point in the near future, meeting people in the flesh as it were, will be unthinkable.
