We all use emoticons on a daily basis, so why not celebrate them? World Emoji Day is an annual unofficial holiday designed to commemorate emoji; in the years since its inception, it has become a popular date for making product or other emoji-related announcements and releases.
1. What is the Date of World Emoji Day?
Communication in the Internet Age has evolved well beyond simply sending a text message. Examine your social media feeds and SMS messages... How many happy faces, flying hearts, avocados, and unicorns can you spot? These distinctive small Japanese images, known as emoji, are more ubiquitous than ever on the internet today—so it's only right that they get their own holiday. World Emoji Day, observed on July 17, is a holiday that celebrates our infatuation with these ubiquitous visual characters. While they may appear frivolous at times, psychologists and researchers believe they serve an important part in how we communicate nowadays.
2. World Emoji Day History
The date initially linked to the launch of Apple's iCal calendar program in 2002. The date, July 17, was presented as an Easter egg on the Apple Color Emoji version of the calendar emoji.
According to CNBC, World Emoji Day is "the brainchild of Jeremy Burge," the founder of Emojipedia, who invented it in 2014.
According to the New York Times, Burge designed this on July 17 "based on how the calendar emoji appears on iPhones." Burge told The Independent that "no formal plans were put in place" for the first World Emoji Day, other than choosing the date. In 2018, the Washington Post urged that readers utilize this day to "communicate solely using emoji."
According to NBC, the day was the #1 trending item on Twitter on July 17, 2015.
Google modified the appearance of the Unicode letter U+1F4C5 CALENDAR on Android, Gmail, Hangouts, and Chrome OS products in 2016 to display 17 July. To avoid misunderstanding on World Emoji Day, all major platforms except Microsoft shifted to showing July 17 on this emoji by 2020.
3. World Emoji Day Activities
They've evolved into a new universal language
Language can take various forms, and one of the oldest is visual symbols. Emojis are distinct in that they are visual symbols that aid in the improvement of our written language. They can be used to substitute words or entire statements and still be understood.
We enjoy receiving "emoji"-tional messages
Emojis were originally designed to represent emotions through images. They reflect emotion through irony or comedy, and even indicate tone of voice or body language in text-based communication, similar to punctuation. They elicit emotional responses in others, which can lead to us becoming more compassionate. Essentially, as we improve at understanding our own emotions, we improve at sensing the emotions of others. It appears that "emoji-tional empathy" is becoming popular.
They assist us when words fail us
When things get lost in translation through words, emojis help us comprehend them better graphically. They help us communicate better and faster in the Internet Age. Let's face it, they're adorable and somewhat addictive to use, but they serve a much greater purpose. They boost our ability to interact effectively with others and transmit our desired message. When in doubt, use an emoji!
