Never before in the history of the world have we tossed our hearts around so freely and indiscriminately. To family, friends, frenemies, school and college mates (whom we barely spoke to in college), even virtual strangers. Nor have we ever distributed roses, clinked champagne flutes, or bestowed smiles with such abandon. All in the full glare of the public eye. Or rather, in the spotlight of social media. I speak, of course, of emojis! Why look for words when you can say it with an emoji?
These little faces, figures, flora, fauna, food, flags etc. …. are now so much part of our online chats that its hard to imagine conversations without them. They have both enriched and simplified our language, often replaced words entirely. All at the mere tap of a finger.
🅰️🆕📖👉👨👨👧👦💅| A new language at our fingertips
Yet, life wasn’t so simple to begin with. There was a whole new pictorial language at our fingertips, but no dictionary to guide us through its nuances. Choosing the right emoji was a task fraught with anxiety. You had to choose them with care to avoid putting your foot in your mouth! (Why, I wonder, is there no emoji for what is such a frequent occurrence?)
Not just another happy face
I remember a time when even conveying a smile involved grave cogitation. There I was—face to face with rows of little round faces. Some sported non-committal half-smiles, others beamed beatifically. There were those that chuckled and chortled, while a few sniggered. How did one go about choosing the right one? I had to do some serious introspection. How did I want the world to see me? With a mysterious half-smile (à la Monalisa) or with a wide grin? With a rosy-cheeked blush or without? Eyes wide open, twinkling or closed?
Moments after I had finally selected one, I was seized with grave doubts. What if I had got it wrong? (Those were the days one could not delete messages). I didn’t want to land up with egg on my face. (No emoji for that either, if you’ve noticed.) Would I be thought to be brazenly bold since I had ditched the maidenly blush? Or if I was rocking with unladylike laughter (with or without tears rolling down my eyes)? So scared was I about conveying the wrong impression that the moment of merriment was replaced by anxiety instead!
The right hue
Then there was the constant worry about being politically correct. Emojis came in a variety of skin tones. Should I opt for the first that came to hand (pun intended) or select one from the shades of brown—from the palest to the darkest? The one may be considered racist, the other may amount to cultural misappropriation. What about hair colour? One didn’t want to masquerade as a young blonde or brunette when one was (very)liberally grey! But the colour palette for hair was reasonably limited—thankfully hair had not yet been coloured by political overtones.
🍔 4 🤔 | Food for thought
Choosing the food items on the menu was worrisome too. Would my teetotaller friend be upset if I toasted his anniversary with champagne? Sending cream-laden cakes, pastries and pizzas might nudge my friend towards bad dietary choices—was I willing to take the weight of such responsibility? Should I balance it by an equal number of healthy vegetarian emojis—crisp salads, spinach soup, boiled cabbage and bitter gourd? I doubted it would earn me any brownie points!
Besides, it was never wise to say it with an emoji where fruits and vegetables were concerned. The healthy avocado was a strict no-no. Neither could the aubergine, peach, cherries, banana, or the red-hot chilli be taken at their face value. For, as I learnt in time, there lurked behind many an innocent vegetable and fruit a dubious sexual innuendo! I opted for the cake with the candles—an excess of sugars and fats was, after all, far better than a double entendre!
🧍🧬📖😄🍔🏞️✨💃 | A life in emojis
Thankfully, those days of confusion and indecision are long past. I am now fairly fluent in the emoji language, though I confess I find the hearts in various colours somewhat mystifying. I strew posies and roses, clink beer mugs and blow kisses liberally without batting an eyelid. Nor do I hesitate to shed a tear publicly, dance to my own tune, or even shrug my shoulders nonchalantly in the face of trolling.
Life and language seem to have come full circle. Remember, it all started with a picture almost 5000 years ago. The story of our lives may soon be written in a string of emojis, and we may be remembered by the emojis engraved on our tombstones. Roses for remembrance and toast to a life well-lived. Short, sweet and simple.