Comparative Analysis for the Use of Emojis on Social Media Amongst Generation X and Generation Y

“To communicate is to be human”, a cliché sentence known by communications students, but the truth behind its meaning to everyone, not only communications students, is very accurate. Humans cannot survive without communicating, as it helps express themselves and interact with one another on another level. Living in the digital era, communication is now transmitted through our online existence, and the use of emojis has been a great part of online communication. This research is a comparative analysis between Generation X and generation Y focusing on the use of emojis on social media platforms, focusing on the residents of Qatar. The results of the research conclude that both generations rely heavily on using emojis when it comes to expressing emotions mainly. When it comes for reliance of use of emojis compared to text, Generation Y (millennials) rely heavier on text rather than emojis, and for Generation X it is the opposite. Both Generation X and Y believe that emojis will never replace text on social media platforms, as the combination of both text and emojis are what articulate the true meaning behind the message being communicated, and that emojis act as the substitution of the non-verbal aspect being missed in online communication.