A smile goes a long way: Exploring emoji trends in APAC

We live in a fast-paced world. Time is money, and people quickly move from one thing to the next. And in the digital space, we often can’t read the other end user’s facial expressions.

In recent years, emojis have become globally significant by providing a fast and friendly mode of communication. As a succinct tool for self-expression, they can make people feel happier when communicating with others and even help overcome language barriers — even if there’s still room for improvement when it comes to inclusion.

Adobe recently surveyed global users in celebration of World Emoji Day 2022 and identified several trends across six countries. Here's what we learned about emoji use in Australia and Korea.

An inclusive picture is worth 1,000 words

Across Australia and Korea, emojis play an important role in self-expression and identity. From diversity and inclusion to dating, to communicating in the workplace, emojis are a method of digital communication with the ability to pack meaning into just a few pixels.

In the recent Emoji Global Trend Report, both Korea and Australia topped the global average when it came to acknowledging the impact emojis have on inclusivity, with most agreeing that inclusive emojis help spark positive conversations about important cultural issues. Participants from Australia and Korea also agreed that additional customisation options help to make emojis more inclusive:

• More than half of Australians (51 percent) and Koreans (56 percent) agreed that emojis better communicate their thoughts and feelings than words alone.
• Both Koreans and Australians want to see emojis strive for better inclusion:
  • Korean respondents felt their skin tone was not reflected in today’s emoji options and would like to see more customisation.
  • Australians would also like to see more customisation options but believe emojis are more inclusive now than they have been in the past.

“[Emojis] can be used by anyone and it’s good to have conversations with each other,” an emoji user from Korea said. “With text, you don’t know the emotions of the other person, you can’t see their expression. Using emoji to express your feelings helps a lot.”

Emoji use is a mood boost for Australians

Emojis create a simple message through a single visual, which puts users at ease when expressing their thoughts and feelings. 36 percent of Australians felt that sending emojis made them happier when communicating with others, on par with other respondents.

Three-quarters of Australian emoji users believe in the ability of more inclusive emojis to start positive conversations about important cultural and societal issues, compared to the global 71 percent. They were also in high agreement on emoji’s additional customisation options helping to make emojis more inclusive.

When it comes to Australians’ favourite emoji, the face with tears of joy ranked highest, similar to four of the five other markets surveyed. Their second favourite is the thumbs up.

When it comes to who they’re sending emojis to most often, Australians send 48 percent to significant others/ partners – slightly below the global average — and, 41 percent to siblings.

Koreans feel confident in emoji interpretations

Korean emoji users feel significantly more satisfied with the inclusivity of emojis compared to the other surveyed markets. They also are confident in their ability to interpret an emoji correctly — 96 percent feel they are up to date on the latest emoji meanings compared to the global 78 percent.

In addition to feeling comfortable with emoji interpretations, using emojis made 38 percent of Koreans feel happier when communicating with others.

While emojis overall create a positive experience for users, there are some that aren't so popular. Koreans' least favourite emoji is the angry face, similar to Germany. Coming in second — different from any other countries surveyed — is the money-mouth face emoji. Their third-least favourite, the crying face emoji, was also unique.

Toward greater connection, one emoji at a time

Emojis enable self-expression through a diverse range of visual aids. Globally, 92 percent of users feel emojis can communicate across language barriers. And over 90 percent of both Australia and Korea users strongly agreed that emojis are a powerful communication tool regardless of background.

The survey found that Australia and Korea had the highest percentile of support for emoji inclusion initiatives. The Emoji Global Trend Report showed increasingly positive use of emojis and offered ways to continue implementing inclusive imagery into our daily conversations.

Emojis have clearly left a lasting impression on the messaging space, and we will continue to see better and more inclusive options — especially as people in countries like Korea and Australia keep engaging with them.

"We already live in such a divided world," an emoji user from Australia said. "Something as small as emojis can make everyone feel included and it is an easy way to do so."