Written by Nandini Acharya
Emojis are the international shorthand for humans sharing a variety of thoughts and emotions across languages. Now, a new study suggests that you may have an increasing influence on the type of emoji you prefer as well.
The study, based on data from more than 24,000 language users on language platform Duolingo , projects that there will be 58 new and used emoji in the next year, with 20% of these new characters being geared toward special occasions such as holidays or sporting events.
However, rather than being based on where a user is located geographically, the most-used emoji of 2021 will be based on how much a user cares about a given topic or celebration.
This study presents emoji in the context of users’ personal interests, as opposed to what the emoji “personality” might suggest. These are based on a study about 19,000 users of social media platform Kiip , where the user base includes mostly tech startups, young professionals and companies.
Contrary to popular thought, the most popular emoji for Valentine’s Day of 2021 will be an eggplant emoji.
Unlike the actual emoji, this one will not appear with an accompanying message. However, those who are more chatty and passionate will be sure to say it with a suggestive capital letter.
Facebook Messenger will see a surge in use of the vomiting emoji in 2021, according to the study. (For anyone who’s ever received a repurposed #SorryNotSorry from their own avatar, this will bring back many happy memories.)