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- A social media analysis revealed the top 10 most popular emojis.
- In the top 10, Face With Tears of Joy emerged victorious, with a whopping 254 million mentions.
- SA's most popularly used emoji is the Loudly Crying Face.
- For more lifestyle news, go to the News24 Life front page.
Emojis have become more than just symbols, but also a language used by not only Gen Zs and Millennials, but people of all ages globally - and a select few seems to be the global favourites.
Meltwater, a media monitoring and analysis platform, used its social listening and analytics solution to reveal which emojis – out of the 3 782 Unicode Standard options that currently exist – are the most popular.
The comprehensive analysis across 12 platforms - including Instagram, Twitter and Reddit - highlighted the top 10 emojis that captured the essence of 2023 globally from 1 January 2023 to 30 November 2023.
The rankings, from number one to 10, include: Face with Tears of Joy, Loudly Crying Face, Fire and Sparkles.
Most mentioned emoji
With an astonishing 254 million mentions, Face with Tears of Joy takes the crown as the most used emoji of the year, compared to the other nine. It was followed by Loudly Crying Face, at 208 million, and Rolling on the Floor Laughing, at 128 million, according to Meltwater.
"These three emojis topping the chart can be used to express similar emotions, like laughing, delight and extreme amusement, all cases where a simple LOL just won't suffice," according to the platform.
Other emojis that form part of the top five list include the red heart emoji, as well as the fire emoji, which both indicate that the user likes or loves something.
Popularity of emojis
Due to its respective contexts, emojis are used in various ways across different social media platforms and countries.
The overall top emojis remain consistent on platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook, but apps like Instagram, Pinterest and Twitch have seen the rise of specific emojis, like Sparkles.
Pinterest, a platform known for inspiration, has seen emojis like ??, ?, and ?? taking centre stage, reflecting users' expressions of enthusiasm and endorsement.
Popular emojis by country
The analysis of country-specific emoji preferences revealed that the Rolling on the Floor Laughing emoji dominated in the United States, the United Kingdom and Nigeria, while Loudly Crying Face reigns supreme in South Africa. The red heart emoji emerged top in India.
"These differences in mention volumes point to how the utility of emojis changes across regional and cultural contexts," according to Meltwater.
