The upside of emoji

You may scoff at emoji — but they're changing communication for the better

All of the emoji.
(Image credit: Illustration)

It's hard to discuss emoji without a certain degree of facetiousness. We can order mediocre chain pizza at the tweet of a single emoji? How revolutionary. Our presidential candidates like using them now? So hip.

So we make fun. And yet... not every use of emoji is worthy of an eye roll.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.