Socialization cannot happen without communication, and since man is a social being, communication is inevitable, as the saying goes, no man is an Island, men need to communicate with each other to get things done. The need to communicate has not faded away with time, instead, that need has grown even more pressing, as technology continues to shrink the world, giving people access that was once viewed as impossible. The world is at a place now where distance is no longer a barrier to communication.
Letter writing can be said to be the earliest form of texting, as it involves sending written words from one person to another, but the distance that letters covered was nothing compared to the fax machine, and the fax machine is nothing compared to texting today. According to Wikipedia, text messaging is the act of sending electronic messages, consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters between two or more users of mobile devices. Text messages can either be sent over a cellular network or an internet connection.
Differences Between Informal and Formal Text Messaging
Just like letter writing, text messaging can be split into formal and informal. As the name implies, formal text messaging is a form of texting used in the business, academic, professional or legal world. On the other hand, informal texting is used when writing to friends and family, or people that are known on a first-name basis.
What are Emoticons and Emojis
Communication can be verbal or non-verbal, this means that one does not necessarily need words to communicate, as faces can be read. Emoticons are signs or symbols that mimic human facial emotions. Wikipedia defines emoticons, emotion Icon, or ‘emote’ as a 'pictorial representation of a facial expression using characters, usually punctuation marks, numbers or letters'. Emoji on the other hand is a word derived from two Japanese words; ‘e’ picture and ‘moji’ character. Emoji is a more recent type of emoticons and is used to refer to pictographs of faces, symbols or objects. The major difference between emoticons and emojis is the fact that emoticons are a combination of characters available on the keyboard, while emojis are a wide range of pictures, (small pictures) ranging from a smiley face to a set of painted nails.
Today, most people are familiar with emoticons and emojis, most people use them while texting, but is it right to use them in every situation? As explained earlier in this article, texting can be split into two categories, this gives insight into the right use of emoticons or emojis.
When to Use Emoticons and Emojis in Text Messaging
As cool and trendy as emojis are, they should not be used in every situation. Emojis can be used when texting in various situations, below are few instances when it is appropriate to use emojis while texting
- Conversation with family/ friends; this is an informal situation. Since emojis are jolly and playful, they can be used in simple and informal conversations. When texting a friend or family member, there is nothing wrong with throwing in a few emojis.
- Conversation with long-term/ regular clients; emojis or emoticons are not completely off-limits in business communication, in fact, you can use them when texting a known and regular customer. Once the relationship between you and your client is strongly established, you can throw in an emoji from time to time.
- In-house communication: when texting your colleagues, emojis or emoticons can be used. The office is of course a professional space, this is why it is important to limit the use of emojis in this space. If your office is a bit relaxed and you have a friendly relationship with your co-workers, a few emojis wouldn’t hurt.
- When to not Use Emoticons or Emojis
Emoticons and Emojis add a level of fun and familiarity to your text message, this means that if you do not want to sound playful or too familiar with the person you are texting, avoid emojis, below are a few situations when emoticons or emojis should not be used
- Professional Situations: Emojis should be avoided when delivering text messages that are intended to be professional. When dealing with fresh clients in a professional setting, texting with emojis will definitely make you sound unprofessional, and you do not want this to be your clients’ first impression about you.
- When delivering bad news; never use emojis when delivering bad news whether in a formal or informal setting, as using an emoji would in many ways make light of a serious situation.
- Emoticons and Emojis add colors to our texts, most times, they give our words expressions and help the receiver not to take a text message out of context. For more of this type of content, visit our website @ smartsmssolutions.com.
SmartSMSSolutions is a communication company aimed at improving the information flow between our client businesses and their customers, using simple communication tools, such as SMS, Email and Voice call. To learn more about our services, visit our website SmartSMSSolutions.com to create a free account and get started, or call 08035515868.