Wu Donghang, Zhang Xinxiu, Zhang Xinjia
School of Fine Arts, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China.
School of Design and Art, Jingdezhen Ceramic University, Jingdezhen, China.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jul 11;15:1424728. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1424728. eCollection 2024.
Emojis are widely used on social media, blogs, and instant messaging to express users' feelings. However, in everyday interactions, the same emoji often has different interpretations and aesthetic preferences among different age groups. This can lead to communication barriers and misunderstandings. Based on social identity theory, this study uses WeChat, a social platform popular in China, to analyze intergenerational differences in emoji understanding and preferences through a questionnaire survey. The results indicate: (1) There are significant intergenerational differences in the usage habits, interpretation, and aesthetic preferences of emojis. (2) Middle-aged and elderly tend to interpret goodbye emoji symbols as simple emotional expressions, such as "goodbye" or "see you later," while younger-age groups lean towards more complex emotions and social intentions, such as "speechlessness" and "end of friendship." (3) Younger-age groups use emojis frequently and with a wide variety, whereas middle-aged and elderly groups use emojis less frequently and with limited variety. Younger individuals' aesthetic preferences for emojis lean towards humor, conflict, and narrative, whereas middle-aged and elderly groups prefer emojis with bright colors and everyday greetings typical of their generation. Based on research findings, we believe that social identity theory provides a framework for understanding how individuals establish their identities through interactions with specific social groups. This study is beneficial for identifying the comprehension and aesthetic biases in emoji usage across generations, sheds light on the broader implications of social identity theory in digital communication contexts, and promotes friendly social interactions in real-time communication applications.
表情符号在社交媒体、博客和即时通讯中被广泛使用，以表达用户的感受。然而，在日常互动中，同一个表情符号在不同年龄组之间往往有不同的解释和审美偏好。这可能导致沟通障碍和误解。基于社会认同理论，本研究使用在中国流行的社交平台微信，通过问卷调查分析表情符号理解和偏好的代际差异。结果表明：（1）表情符号的使用习惯、解释和审美偏好在代际之间存在显著差异。（2）中年人和老年人倾向于将再见表情符号简单地解释为情感表达，如“再见”或“稍后见”，而年轻群体则倾向于更复杂的情感和社交意图，如“无语”和“友谊结束”。（3）年轻群体频繁且多样化地使用表情符号，而中年和老年群体使用表情符号的频率较低且种类有限。年轻人对表情符号的审美偏好倾向于幽默、冲突和叙事，而中年和老年群体则更喜欢颜色鲜艳且具有他们那一代人典型日常问候的表情符号。基于研究结果，我们认为社会认同理论为理解个体如何通过与特定社会群体的互动来确立自己的身份提供了一个框架。本研究有助于识别跨代表情符号使用中的理解和审美偏差，揭示社会认同理论在数字通信背景下的更广泛影响，并促进实时通信应用中的友好社交互动。
