The Positive and Negative Functions of Emoticons

Yulan YUAN, Zhanfang LI

Abstract


The term “emoticon”, short for “emotion icons”, has long drawn a lot of attention in computer-mediated communication. In order to obtain an overview of emoticons and clear the further study direction, the present thesis summarizes the functions of emoticons and the disadvantages if people abuse them. Generally speaking, emoticons make contributions to the context in text-based communication so that the recipients can understand the senders. Specifically speaking, emoticons have many functions in some professional fields like linguistic field, marketing management field, education, etc.. Meanwhile, if emoticons are abused, there will be a series of problems in interaction, society and spirit.


Keywords


Emoticons; Emoji; Functions; Disadvantages

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11326

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