Technology Through the Ages: Emoticons

       If you were born after 2000 you grew up knowing what emoticons were and how to use them while typing. It was always a way to express how you were feeling or what you were about. While those who are college aged now have been quite comfortable with the advanced "emoji's," this phenomenon of colorful hearts and sushi icons is still less than a decade old. Let's take it back to the beginning.

   As Hannah Malugen so kindly reported the first resemblance of an "emoji" was Scott Fahlman's ":-) and :-(" in 1982. These were meant to express what kind of post (serious or humorous) was being posted to the discussion board. In 1999 the first true emoji's were created. These were used for a few years and then the ones 2000 babies grew up using were created. These were simple icons of anything from an angry face to a lollipop. 

    In 2010 a software company called Unicode created a system that adapted all emoji's and keyboards to all programmings. Another huge advancement to emoji's was when Apple created their own emoji software in 2011. This software by Apple is what looks most like the current eight pages of emoji's we have now!

    Emoji's have always been a fun too to enhance a users online experience, but since their creation they've of course come with their fair share of negative impacts as well. For example, users may be accustomed to use them and with the casual state of most relationships accidentally use them in a professional setting. Emoji's have only recently been more inclusive, with the 2016 update there were people in wheelchairs and single parent icons. Some emojis are also used to communicate things that others could take offense to. In this case they can be used as a cop out in place of saying what the person actually means. This leads to the biggest con in my opinion: that emoji's are so simply interpreted incorrectly.

    All that being said there are some pretty awesome things about emoji's. For example, they provide a better way to communicate how the user is feeling. It is also great for people communicating who may not speak the same primary languages. They're also a great tool when a user is trying to communicate something quickly. 

    As an avid user of this emoji's  I am thankful for the advancements made over the past thirty years, and I hope we see greater developments in the future!