If you’re a heavy emoji user, you may hide some dark personality traits that could hint at your inner beast, a study suggests.
Scientists at Oklahoma State University have found that high emoji use is linked with negative attributes such as narcissism and even psychopathy.
The experts say: ‘Emoji use may be related to strategies to manipulate the perceptions of others and to present a positive impression of oneself.’
Overall, the use of 40 emoji are linked with negative personality traits – scroll down to see the full list!
The study investigated how emoji use relates to personality – but specifically three undesirable personality traits known as the Dark Triad.
These are psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism, which is ‘the willingness to manipulate others to advance one’s own interests’.
For the study, researchers recruited 285 undergraduate students – 135 male, 145 female and five ‘other’ – with an average age of about 20.
Emoji usage was assessed in multiple ways. Participants were asked to rate their frequency of usage for 40 common emoji.
Scientists at Oklahoma State University have linked the use of emoji with several negative personality traits, including narcissism and psychopathy (file photo)
One of the central themes of hit Netflix series ‘Adolescence’, starring Stephen Graham and newcomer Owen Cooper, is the sinister meaning behind emoji
Of the emoji, 20 were positive in meaning (showing hearts and smiling faces for example) while the other 20 were negative (sad faces and reflections of anger).
For each emoji, participants were asked to rate their frequency of using that emoji on a five-point rating scale (from 1 = never to 5 = very frequently).
Participants also answered questions about their general emoji use, such as how often they use them when composing text messages and replying to people’s social media posts.
Meanwhile, personality traits were assessed with questionnaires.
Researchers found that in males, more frequent use of all emoji types was related to higher levels of narcissism, which is defined as an unreasonably high sense of one’s own importance.
Also in males, higher levels of Machiavellianism were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, negative emojis, emojis in replies to social media messages and in text messages.
Affecting about 1 per cent of the population, psychopathy is a personality disorder characterised by anti-social behaviour, and extreme lack of empathy or remorse (file photo)
Meanwhile in females, higher levels of narcissism were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, negative emojis, emojis in new social media posts, and emojis in replies to social media messages.
Researchers also found that some emoji use was related to the Big Five personality traits – agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism and openness.
For both men and women, higher levels of extraversion were related to more frequent use of positive emojis, while in men only, higher levels of extraversion were related to more frequent use of emojis in text messages.
For women, higher levels of openness were related to more frequent use of emojis in new social media posts, replies to social media posts and text messages.
And for men, higher levels of neuroticism were related to more frequent use of negative emojis and more frequent use of emojis in replies to social media posts.
Emojis can carry very loaded and often sinister meanings, which the Netflix show ‘Adolescence’ has helped increase awareness of. In 2023, Surrey Police issued a guide for parents on the latest emoji slang for the drug trade (pictured)
According to a psychological trait theory developed in the 1980s called the big five, human behaviour is comprised of five personality traits that form the acronym OCEAN – openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism
Interestingly, women reported more frequent use of emoji than men in each of the five categories of emoji use – positive emoji, negative emoji, emoji in new social media posts, emojis in replies to social media posts, and emoji in text messages.
Further studies could reveal more about broader and ‘more generalised groups of emoji users’ than just college students, the study authors say.
‘For future research in this field it would be vital to know how different generations (with gender specification for each generation) understands, views and uses emojis in their life,’ they conclude in their paper.
‘This clarification with generation and age in emoji usage would improve meanings of emojis to a magnitude of populations as shown in the study that context does not always mean clarity.’
