Experts Explain What Emojis May Say About Our Mental Health

There's a good chance you've already sent or received one today – emojis.  

The interactive icons are designed to help us express our feelings. However, a new study suggests they're doing just the opposite.

“We need those yellow faces to help us to express,” said Moyu Liu, a researcher from Tokyo, Japan, told CBS News.

Liu led a study analyzing whether the emojis people send actually reflect how they really feel.

Researchers studied the emoji interactions of more than 1,200 people and found happy emojis were often used to mask negative emotions to make a message seem more positive.

“Personally, I have done this before, maybe I think people are doing the same thing with me,” Liu said. “I do that all the time on What's App with my aunties when they send videos that aren't funny.”

The study found people were most likely to fake their feelings when talking to people of a higher
social status or in a group chat, versus a one-on-one. Researchers found a possible link between those who hid their feelings and mental health.

“Managing emotions using those emojis can be weakly associated with depressive symptoms,” Liu said.

A 2022 trend report from Adobe revealed the top favorite emojis for Americans, with the laughing emoji topping the list, followed by the thumbs-up, heart, rolling on the floor laughing, and the sad emoji with a tear drop.

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