Abstract:

Written messaging as a form of communication has become a part of our daily life with the spread of smartphones. Factors such as tone of voice, gesture and facial expression, which facilitate the transmission of emotions in verbal messages, are absent in text messages which constitutes an obstacle for the sender. In recent years, emoji usage seems to be widespread in order to fill the deficiency. The emoji is defined as a visual symbol used in expressing feelings or some concepts in written messages. In the field surveys for emoji perception, it is stated that women have a more positive attitude. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of emoji usage on the receiver in written message, taking into account the gender factor. 120 students from Namık Kemal University have participated in the study. Various emoji messages have been shown to the participants; and after each message, they have been asked to evaluate emotional intensity of the sender. According to the results, where the effect of the sender’s gender has not been encountered, the effect of receiver’s gender has been found significant in the evaluation of the sender's emotions. Regardless of the gender of the sender, in messages with emoji involving feelings of 'happiness' and 'anger', female receivers have interpreted the sender’s feelings stronger than the male receivers have done. The results obtained have been evaluated within the frame of the general relationship of men and women of this age group with emoji.

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