Overview

• A PLOS One experiment by University of Texas at Austin researchers had 260 adults read 15 text exchanges and found that messages with emojis scored higher for partner responsiveness, closeness and overall satisfaction.
• No difference emerged between face and non-face emojis, suggesting that the mere presence of any emoji drives positive relationship perceptions.
• Authors theorize that emojis serve as nonverbal cues of attentiveness and emotional engagement in the absence of tone, facial expressions or gestures.
• The study’s one-way, hypothetical messaging design isolates emoji effects but may not fully capture real-time, two-way conversational dynamics.
• Experts warn that cultural and generational variations can affect how specific emojis are read and note that stickers and GIFs may offer similar emotional cues.