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That old stereotype about older folks not being able - or willing - to adapt to new forms of communication may not be true, new research suggests. According to a new study from the University of Ottawa in Canada, Gen Xers and baby boomers understand what emojis mean, but they’re just not confident enough to use them.
The study is being called the “first comprehensive investigation” into inter-generational emoji use including adults over 60 and looks into age and generation-related differences in emoji use.
- It focuses on eight emojis - three for happiness, two for sadness, two for surprise and one for anger.
- Researchers showed 240 adults between the ages of 18 and 80 each emoji in a random order.
- Participants rated how much intensity the emoji use to convey each emotion and researchers analyzed how accurate their interpretations were and how easy they were to interpret.
- It turns out, the emoji that’s most difficult for boomers and Gen X to interpret is the one that represents surprise - the “wide eyes” one with eyebrows raised.
- Surprisingly, happiness was the next hardest to interpret - the “grinning face,” “grinning face with smiling eyes” and “smiling face with smiling eyes” were all included.
- Study authors believe helping older adults understand emojis better and use them more could help them better communicate with other generations, which could help combat ageism and reduce loneliness.
“We found that older users are less likely to use emojis, use fewer emojis, and feel less comfortable in their ability to interpret emojis,” explains lead study author Isabelle Boutet. “Software developers could consider modifying existing emoji menus to facilitate their use across generations by, for example, making unambiguous emojis which older users are able to interpret more easily.”
Read the article at NY Post