The latest version of Unicode Standard has been released and includes 72 new emojis. Prose challenged “texters” can now use the “shrug”, “facepalm”, “fingers crossed” and other symbols in order to say what’s on their mind without actually saying anything. While most of these additions seem rather innocent, one emoji trend seems to resemble a drooling face high on marijuana.
EMOJI TREND IS NOT GOING AWAY ANYTIME SOON
For those hoping the emoji fad would die quickly, think again. Version 9.0 of the Unicode Standard includes 72 new faces, hand jesters, animals, gender pairings, food, sports, drinks and more. Faces, of course, are the most popular category and now, users can say so much with so little. No longer will a simple smile dictate how happy one is. There are different levels of smiling now. Don’t dare put an average smile after hearing some good news or that may come across as an insult. There is a wide range of emojis available to suit every response, so use them correctly. Not feeling well? Go with the green face emoji. Feeling goofy? Then go for the clown face. What if you’re pregnant? There’s even a face for that, so go wild.
MARIJUANA ADDICT EMOJI IS A WEIRD TREND
Sure, clowns, pregnant woman, and Pinocchio faces all make for some weird emojis but one particular trend is causing some confusion. In the latest update, Unicode Standard includes a spaced out looking drooly face. Whether they intended for the face to look like a high, marijuana user is uncertain, but people are skeptical. When you think about it, though, it makes sense that marijuana should be represented through texts. The trend of marijuana will only increase as more states legalize so it’s important that have a symbol for it. Besides, marijuana is too long to spell out anyway.
EMOJI TREND IS KILLING US
Emojis may represent an easy way to convey one’s feelings but they may be doing more harm than good. Emojis can be interpersonal danger zones. There is no written book on what the symbols mean. Sure, you may think a smiley face means a smile but did you take sarcasm into play there? When it comes to this kind of communication, there’s too much room for messages to get lost in translation. With the invention of texting, communication has changed. It’s much more difficult to express how one actually feels through text and now, emojis make it even worse. Emojis are even seen in politics and journalism these days. It’s just a matter of time before they consume us all.
