Emoji-what is their purpose? a study of effective communication on facebook

Communication studies have seen a radical change in focus due to advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), predominantly from the increased use of the Internet. Such developments have required people to increasingly rely on computer-mediated communication (CMC) for social interactions. In addition to the meaning of interaction as carried by the text itself, CMC increasingly makes the exchange of non-textual meaning possible-predominantly via emoji. Emoji refer to picture characters, they come in many forms, from yellow faces to flags and objects, etc. However, there has been evidence that emoji can be interpreted in different ways, which in turn leads to a mis-match between the meaning intended by the sender and the meaning interpreted by the receiver. This research identifies key factors and contextual variables that impact on aspects of meaning-generation and communication effectiveness. Developing a deeper understanding of the identified factors-and how, under which circumstances, and why they influence effectiveness-will help to improve CMC in a variety of settings. This research adopts a classic grounded theory methodology which focuses on providing conceptual insight into a specific phenomenon, a substantive area where latent patterns are identified. Previous research on emoji only focused on Twitter and other, discontinued channels. Data is collected via unstructured online observation and interviews based on the methodological concept of theoretical sampling. The research has identified influences such as culture, religion, the relationship between interactants and other categories in the way emoji are interpreted and applied within the context of the Facebook platform. The proposed conceptual model focuses on the communication process of meaning generation of emoji. The results highlight how meaning is generated in a two-directional communication exchange. Social relationships are seen to play a vital role in the meaning generation process-this process influences how individuals understand and interpret emoji in the social media context of Facebook.