Which emoji are markers of sarcasm among Chinese teenagers using the WeChat app?

This study explored emoji-based sarcastic statements made by Chinese teenagers using the WeChat app. Two experiments ( = 597) were conducted to investigate both language production and comprehension. In Experiment 1 ( = 236), a free-response task was used to determine which emoji Chinese teenagers would use to signal their sarcastic intentions. The results showed that the smiling emoji (Image 1) and the tears-of-joy emoji (Image 2) were the most commonly used emoji to indicate sarcastic intent. Experiment 2 ( = 361) involved a rating task to investigate the role that two selected emoji played in the comprehension and emotional impact of WeChat messages (literal and sarcastic statements). Our findings revealed that both emoji generally increased the perceived sarcasm in literal comments; however, while the smiling emoji intensified the perceived sarcasm in sarcastic comments, the tears-of-joy emoji had no significant effect on such comments. Regarding emotional impact, the smiling emoji amplified the negativity of the statement, whereas the tears-of-joy emoji mitigated it. This indicates that both emoji and context are reliable cues for interpreting sarcasm, though their levels of reliability may differ. Specifically, the smiling emoji carries greater weight than context, while context is afforded stronger weight than the tears-of-joy emoji in the constraint-satisfaction process of sarcasm. Overall, the smiling emoji is perceived as more sarcastic and more negative than the tears-of-joy emoji.