College Success Tip # 67 - "Evaluate Emoticon Use"
What better way to virtually express yourself via a phone text conversation or email than with EMOJIS! There are so many different emojis to select from and the ones you absolutely adore are the ones that ought to be shared right? But in reality not everyone wants to see emojis especially in a higher learning setting that doesn’t require the use of them. Virtually available are the character emojis, customizable emojis you can create to resemble your physical features and even the animal emojis that are so cute and funny, but as I stated previously inserting emojis in every assignment, email or group chat is not highly recommended or a good look as it relates to your Higher education career.
For individuals who are not familiar with the term Emoji or Emoticon let me break the term down for you. Emoticons are visual representations of “emotions” through the use of pictorial digital “icons” thus creating the term “Emoticons” also known as Emojis. If you didn’t know, now you do. There are so many emojis in the digital world that there is a Emojipedia – Encyclopedia which is an Emoji specific search engine for individuals in need of the meaning and use of all emojis. I understand why a Emojipedia Encyclopedia is important because there are definitely quite a few digital emojis in need of interpretation.
For those who want to know or even care My favorite is the Target emoji! But despite your favorite emoji and its meaning they all have a specific place to be shared at a specific time and it’s most likely not in your College research paper (unless the Research paper is about Emoji’s) 🤔, your college applications, your academic resume, your professional resume, your emails to teachers, your midterm and final English papers, or that group project in your business marketing course. Knowing this bit of information, Higher Education students must Aim to use Emojis in their proper place and at the proper time and as I’ve just said its not in emails to professors, in papers, on digital learning operating systems or in even some text messages to peers who are not your friends and don’t know who you are.
I’ve experienced it as a professor when some of my College students sent emails to me about how they were going to either miss class, had an emergency, had a questions about an assignment and it was full of emoticons.
Sometimes the emoticons were more than the text which is the writing content and at times the emojis that they selected to represent their feelings and emotions about a situation, me or a particular topic was totally inappropriate.
This is a tip within a tip, just because your instructor is younger or you perceive them to be so cool and understanding doesn’t justify one in sending content to instructor because they’ll understand or they don’t trip about a lot of things. If you don’t know now you do, it’s not a good look and it is bad form. As a higher education student aim to communicate professionally. You can still be yourself but in professional, courteous, respectful way.
Also Just because you “always” send emojis to your friends and family members doesn’t mean that your professor, department chair, academic dean, academic advisor or your counselor wants to receive them from you. Majority of the time, the academic setting doesn’t accept it.
Even if you have an instructor who communicates with emojis, I recommend that you don’t communicate back with them. I would spell everything out because things could get misconstrued and one person could say that is not what they meant but it’s all jumbled because emojis were used.
That is a notable tip to follow.
It is important to keep all academic conversations strictly academic and professional. Inserting emojis within an email about how you will miss class or how a student would like to schedule an appointment to converse with their teacher about their concerns of failing their writing assignments is not proper Netiquette. Only use emojis in the proper place and time and you’ll know when that is, most likely when the instructor expresses that you are able to for a particular assignment.
A scripture to encourage you in your path is Proverbs 4:6, Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you. Love her, and she will guard you.”
Peace & God Bless,
Aiming Towards the Target,
Dr. Kennetra Bryant
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