The Analysis of Emoji's Usage from Japanese Generation Perspectives

Abstract

Japanese people sometimes use emoji in their daily activities, especially in non-verbal communications such as text messages or posting on their social media. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to find out what kind of emojis that Japanese people of generation X, Y, and Z tend to use in their communication. This research uses library and qualitative method. Authors also conduct a survey on 90 random Japanese people. It is hoped that this research allows us to know the representation of emoji that is used between different generations in Japan.The research shows that emoji used in communication may serve as a medium to maintain harmony between generations to communicate in this digital era. Plenty of Japanese people, especially within families and friends use emoji to emphasize expressions in a sentence as well as making them more friendly. Moreover, another result of why Japanese people use emoji in smartphones is because of its practicality.