Breakout of the Visual: Text to Image - Emoticons Script. Courtney O Connor

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1 Breakout of the Visual: Text to Image - Emoticons Script Courtney O Connor ETEC 540: The Changing Spaces of Reading and Writing Ernesto Pena July 30 th, 2014

2 Millions of people are able to communicate and express messages with one another with the presence of an emoticon. Emoticons are digital representations of facial expressions, emotions or other images. Whether it is through a text message, , Facebook, or other social media sites, emotions and feelings can be communicated without using words. This is not a new phenomenon, however. Picture writing has been used for centuries. Picture writing is, in fact, one of the earliest forms of writing, where a picture, or a set of pictures would be used to represent a script. Ancient Mesopotamian Sumerians created the earliest known picture writing around 3200 BC (British Library). Yet the meaning of picture writing has changed since then. Instead of drawing pictures of a cow s head or a mountain on clay, we send electronic images of emotional faces, airplanes, virtual hearts or horses. As visuals and emoticons continue to redefine digital writing, it begs the question, Does the rise of the emoticons mean we are reverting back to our ancient ways of writing? Bolter argues that with the rise of new technologies and new media, print is attempting to readjust the ratio between text and image (Bolter 23%). When there is change there is a tendency to lament over the loss of the past. However, readjustment claims that text is not going anywhere, but rather just updating itself to its current demand. Effective text and image reading is also dependent on how text and images are able to blend together and highlight a message (Bolter 24%). It would not make much sense to send a text message with an emoticon that is completely irrelevant. Additionally, a string of emoticons cannot stand on its own. It needs text to convey its complete meaning.

3 Pictures themselves represent objects. These images on their own would represent very little if there were not a general understanding of what each emotion or image means (Ong, 82-83). While it can be easy to communicate with pictures, much of the interpretation is left up to the reader. Meaning and interpretation can be easily lost if the images are not equipped with a code or a general understanding enabling them to represent specific words. (Ong, 82-83). As Gunther Kress points out in his article, this is not a new concern in writing. Words themselves are empty entities. Similar to pictures, they are signifiers that are to be filled with meaning. The task of the reader is to fill these relatively vacant entities with his or her intended meaning (Kress, 7). By using emoticons, the writer is attempting to add more meaning and context to their writing. These icons are meant to put verbal text into context and highlight an emotion that might be otherwise left up to interpretation. With the lack of face-to-face communication, it becomes easy to misinterpret words and emotional meaning. While this might negatively affect professional and academic writing these emoticons are used to mimic face-to-face interaction (Bolter 33%). Emoticons are changing the way we communicate faster than anyone readers and communicators can keep up with. As linguist Ben Zimmer states, People are making up the rules as they go. It s completely organic (Robb, 2014). There is no general set of rules when it comes to using emoticons each use depends on the interaction between individuals, geographic location, age, gender, and social class, resulting in a more complicated language (Robb, 2014). As stated in Robb s article, there has been quite a bit of research surrounding the use of emoticons, especially in the case of smiley faces. Those who do not include a nose in their smiley tend to have younger interests than those

4 who do. It seems ridiculous to think that there is a difference between users who include a nose in their smiley face and those who do not. As emoticons and text attempt to strike a balance, there is tension between different mediums of writing. Emoticons are finding their way into professional s and documents at work and academic papers at school. Ironically, when using emoticons to reinforce text or meaning, they lack narrative power (Bolter 28%). Many linguists believe that digital natives are too lazy to express themselves with words (Bruck 2014). Imagine an entire paragraph that is full of the over-use of exclamation marks or emoticons to express emotion. The emotions conveyed can come off as fake or overwhelming, and the impact of each is diluted. While some believe that emoticons are contributing to the death of written language, others, such as social psychologist Tina Gangster, believe they are a creative way of getting around the limitations of digital communication (Bruck, 2014). These emoticons represent gestures, body language and facial expressions - the kind of non-verbal communication we see in our daily life. They allow us to make emotional connections and avoid misunderstandings in a digital environment. When searching for these emotional connections in a digital environment, we may tend to over-think a simple smiley face or an extra period and assume they have more intended meaning than they actually convey. While emoticons tend to stay within the texting and social media realm, many educators, researchers and citizens worry about the decline of literacy and writing with the use of emoticons and visuals. As a result, there is still plenty to be learned about the impact of

5 these images on writing. Bolter argues that verbal communication will be further marginalized in the quest for immediacy. It will be interesting to see if s are replaced by video, as he suggests, or if emoticons and its form of language continue to grow, and to see what form of writing will emerge from it as we attempt to readjust the ratio of visual to text within writing. (Bolter 34%).

6 References: Bolter, J. D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print (2nd ed.) Taylor and Francis e-library. Bruck, J. (2014). Digital natives use emoticons because they are too lazy to write properly. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved from British Library. (2014). Picture Writing. Retrieved from Kress, G. (2005). Gains and losses: new forms texts, knowledge, and learning. Computers and Composition, 22, Ong, Walter (1982) Orality and literacy. London and New York: Routledge. Robb, A. (2014). How using emoji makes us less emotional. New Republic. Retrieved from Soerfm. (Uploaded Photograph). (2005). Letter Luenna Louvre A [Digital Image]. Retrieved from _AO4238.jpg Mohr. T., & Elena. A. [Composers] (2014). Reasons to Smile. Retrieved from Mohr. T., & Elena. A. [Composers] (2014). Where I am From. Retrieved from

Should that frown be upside down? Emojis make the meaning clear

Should that frown be upside down? Emojis make the meaning clear By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.19.16 Word Count 803 Emojis are changing the face of online communication. Can you figure