The Great Big STELLAR Irish Emoji Survey: The Results

Did you know that, according to Vyv Evans, a linguistics professor at Bangor University, emoji is the fastest growing language of all time? Yup, he says that’s, “based on its incredible adoption rate and speed of evolution. As a visual language, emoji has already far eclipsed hieroglyphics, its ancient Egyptian precursor, which took centuries to develop.”

So we decided to test his theory, and find out a little about your emoji-based emoting while we were at it too. As a relatively new form of communication (emojis were developed in Japan in the late ’90s), it’s fair to say we’re still figuring out the best ways to use them – even though we know we love and adore them.

In the September issue of the magazine, we taking a look at how emoji etiquette stands right now, and here we’ve got the full results of our reader survey, all based on what you told us. Enjoy!

STELLAR 2015 emoji survey results

438 of you answered our survey questions and here’s what your emoji usage is looking like…

• 98% use emojis
• 49% use them constantly
• 8% use them occasionally
• 30% use them once or twice a day
• 12% basically communicate in them now!
• 2% never use them

And here’s the media we use them in:

• Texts: 95%
• Emails: 37%
• Gchat: 7%
• iMessages: 57%
• Facebook status: 62%
• Snapchat: 61%
• Twitter: 51%
• Instagram: 61%

But with emoji usage comes (great) responsibility. While we love them and have great fun with them, there are some people we’d just never send them to, and certain situations that 76% of us still consider to be out-of-emoji-bounds. The other 24%? They think using emojis at all times is a-okay.

Who we don’t send them to:

• 25% would never use an emoji when communicating with their mother
• 27% wouldn’t send their dad an emoji
• 59% regard their boss as off emoji-limits
• 63% wouldn’t cross themselves to send on to a priest
• 6% don’t think it’s a-okay to send them to their other half
• 69% wouldn’t use one in convo with their bank manager
• 45% wouldn’t include one along with an online fast food order
• 31% don’t think it’s okay to use emoji-speak to their hairdresser

And when we don’t think it’s appropriate to use them:

• 97% would never use one in a CV
• 95% would never use one in a job application
• 43% think it’s not okay to use them when you’re dumping someone
• 86% say you shouldn’t use one in a resignation letter
• 40% wouldn’t use one to their new boyfriend’s mother
• 63% wouldn’t use one in a complaint to Irish Water
• 87% don’t think the polling booth is the place for emojis
• 91% wouldn’t use one at the Garda station

So what about the 2% of survey respondents who don’t use emojis? What’s their deal?

• Ugh, they’re ridiculous, say 15%
• I just don’t want to use them, say 45%
• My phone doesn’t have them is the answer for 27%
• I’m too cool for them is what 21% think

But for the rest of you emoji-lovers, here are the ones you use the most:

1. Smiling face
2. Heart
3. Heart eyes
4. Thumbs up
5. Blowing kiss
6. Monkey with hands over eyes
7. Tongue out face
8. Crying laughing
9. Dancing lady
10. Winking face

Lastly, we asked you about the fantasy emojis you’d love to see added to the emojipedia. #praying. Here’s what you told us.

1. Tayto
2. Middle finger
3. Fingers crossed
4. Irish
5. Beyonce
6. Avocado
7. Disney
8. Hungover
9. Selfie
10. Nutella

Got something to say about the survey and its results? Leave us a comment or tweet us.

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