By Stephen Beech via SWNS
Women are more likely than men to use emojis when messaging friends or family, according to a new study.
American researchers found that men and less likely to use the icons when sharing messages with pals or romantic partners.
Emojis – depicting emotions, objects, animals, and other items – can be sent via computers or smartphones, alone or with text, during virtual communications.
Study author Dr. Simon Dubé said: “Assessing how emoji use may vary depending on communication and interpersonal skills can provide insights into who employs emojis and the psychological mechanisms underlying computer-mediated communication.
“Despite the pervasiveness of emoji use in our daily social lives, relatively little is known about who uses emojis beyond evidence of differences related to gender and personality traits.”
For the study, Dr. Dubé and his colleagues investigated associations between emoji use frequency, attachment style, and “emotional intelligence” across genders and relationship types among 320 adults.
Dr. Dubé explained that emotional intelligence is the ability to process and manage one’s emotions and those of others, while attachment styles refer to patterns of how individuals relate to others in close relationships, influenced by early interactions with primary caregivers.
He said: “These styles are broadly classified into three types: anxious, avoidant, and secure attachment.
“Both anxious and avoidant attachment styles indicate a child’s lack of security with their primary caregiver.
“In contrast, children with a secure attachment style tend to be enthusiastic when reunited with their caregivers after a brief separation.”
The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, showed that people with higher emotional intelligence and secure attachment may employ emojis more frequently.
Dr. Dubé, a Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, said: “This pattern of results varies across genders and relationship types, with women using emojis with friends and family more frequently than men.
“For women, higher levels of attachment avoidance were associated with sending and receiving emojis less often with friends and dating or romantic partners.
“For men, higher levels of attachment avoidance were linked to sending fewer emojis to such partners.
“In addition, women used emojis more than men, but this difference was specific to interactions with friends and family.”
Dr. Dubé says the study has opened up new research avenues at the intersection of psychology, computer-mediated communication, and emotional intelligence.
He added: “The way we interact during virtual communications may reveal something more about ourselves.
“It is not just a smiley face or heart emoji: it’s a way to convey meaning and communicate more effectively, and how you use it tells us something about you.”
