World Emoji Day

World Emoji Day History

World Emoji Day is an annual global event that celebrates emojis, the ideograms and smileys used in electronic messages and webpages. These icons have revolutionized digital communication by allowing people to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a visual and succinct manner. This observance highlights the importance of emojis in our daily lives, bringing attention to the role they play in promoting cultural diversity, enabling inclusive communication, and fostering global connections on social media platforms.

The concept of World Emoji Day was established in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, an online emoji reference website. For South Africans, emojis hold particular relevance as they cater to the nation's diverse linguistic landscape, boasting 11 official languages. Emojis help bridge potential language barriers by providing universally understood symbols, enabling South Africans from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to communicate effectively with one another.

In South Africa, World Emoji Day is observed through various online events, social network discussions, and photo sharing contests where individuals showcase the creative use of emojis in their digital conversations. In recent years, local brands have also joined in the festivities by engaging in social media campaigns that focus on the creative and fun aspects of emoji usage, showcasing the true spirit of South African culture. World Emoji Day takes place on July 17th, providing an opportunity for South Africans to embrace and celebrate the impact of emojis on digital communication and social interaction within the nation's diverse community.

World Emoji Day facts

• According to worldemojiday.com, the first phone known to contain emojis was the SkyWalker DP-211SW. It was a mobile telephone manufactured by J-Phone in 1997. It supported a set of 90 emoji.
• Emojis are used by 92% of the online population daily.
• According to a survey by YouGov, South Africans are some of the biggest emoji users in the world, with 91% using emojis on a regular basis.
• The most used emoji in South Africa is the Face With Tears of Joy, which is also the most used emoji globally.

In the News and Trending in South Africa for World Emoji Day

Top things to do in South Africa for World Emoji Day

• Use emojis today. Whoever you text or message today, be sure to add in some emojis. They may even respond with some of their own.
• Listen to Jonathan Mann's World Emoji Day Anthem. It is a fun tune written and produced by Mann that celebrates emojis.
• Visit Emojiville at Montecasino, Johannesburg, which is a fun-filled world of giant emoji statues, featuring different faces, characters and even animals.
• Use hashtags on social media such as #WorldEmojiDay, #EmojiDayZA, #emoji, and others to share your favorite emojis with others.