Attitudes, Emotions, and the Use of Emoji in Social Networking Apps by Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

In this mixed-method study, we sought to examine attitudes, expression of emotions, and the use of emoji in social networking by children, adolescents, and young adults. A total of 551 participants from Israel completed questionnaires, and 110 participants were also interviewed. The findings indicate that the participants love the social networking applications (SNAs). The reasons they mentioned are availability, accessibility, convenience, efficiency, speed, reliability, and the ability to express emotions by adding emoji. Many have stated that it is easier for them to express feelings in SNAs, that they do not feel embarrassed, and are handling the reactions of others better than in face-to-face situations. They think that they have extensive and productive communication, and attach great importance to the content and messages they receive and send. Some participants did not like the difficulty in maintaining privacy and the exposure to unwanted content.