Burriss: How emoji are used

By LARRY BURRISSFake news, alternative facts and Russian infiltration! I think it's time for a break. So let's deal with something really important: like how emoji are being used around the world.

Fake news, alternative facts and Russian infiltration! I think it's time for a break. So let's deal with something really important: like how emoji are being used around the world.

One of the problems we have always had with e-mail is how to convey emotions. True, there are a few keyboard emoticons that can illustrate a small range of sentiments, but tens-of-thousands of emoji run the gamut of emotions, feelings, moods and attitudes.

So, here's a surprising bit of information: more than 6-billion of the little cartoons are sent each day, and the greatest difference in users isn't based on age. It's based on gender. A recent report found 92 percent of the on-line population uses emoji. Specifically, 78 percent of women, but only 60 percent of men use the little pictures.

The report also found the main reason people use emoji are to help message recipients understand what the sender is trying to say.

But despite the emoji available on public and private sites, nearly a third of people surveyed said there is a need for more of the little icons, particularly images dealing with sports, politics and current events.

For better or worse, the use of emoji is also a topic of serious, and not so serious, scientific research.

I recently found dozens of web sites asking users to choose their favorite emoji, when it is or is not appropriate to use an emoji, and how people interpret what the sender of a message is trying to say through the emoji.

But guess what: emoji aren't all that new. I remember from years ago filling out a form in my doctor's office with rows of smiley and frowny faces asking me how I was feeling that day.

And by the way, the word "emoji" comes from Japanese words for "picture" and "character," and has no linguistic connection with the English