Happy World Emoji Day!

Since their emergence on the scene in late 1997, emojis have become our way of augmenting our texts, softening or emphasizing our tweets, or conveying messages that words alone don’t seem to be able to cover. They make us laugh, roll our eyes, or wonder, “What does a fox holding a purple popsicle and winking even mean?”

The crying tears of joy emoji (  ) that rocketed to the top in 2019 remains one of the most used (tweeted over 2 billion times in 2020). However, the biggest trend in emojis points to a new focus on inclusion. For example, face emojis that were almost exclusively yellow in the early days are now available in almost every skin tone. Likewise, emojis that depict couples, friends, or “holding hands,” are available in almost every color and color and gender combination.

And as we get back out into the world in 2021, and people start meeting, dating, and falling in love again, the emoji fastest on the rise is the . The Heart on Fire emoji represents either a passionate new love or a “burning” of a past love and moving on. Either way, this emoji is gaining steam as a sense of optimism, connection, and “getting out there” sweeps over the nation.

So, what do you think? Could you go a day without tweeting or texting an emoji?