We present to you today a groundbreaking update in the very scientific field of emoji use. Alternate keyboard app SwiftKey examined over one billion emoji from their data in search of global patterns. You can read the whole 18-page report here, but first, we’ll answer the question that we know is on your mind: Who is the global leader in poop and eggplant emoji use?
Some of the conclusions reached in the study are obvious, like that users in countries with colder temperatures send a lot more snowflakes than those who dwell in tropical climes. We also weren’t surprised to see that faces are the most common, with “happy faces” accounting for 44% of all emoji used. But the rest of the results? Some were baffling, and many were hilarious.
For example, Canadians, generally thought of as our polite and peaceful northern neighbors, are the global leaders for “violent” emoji like guns and knives. They also really like that smiling poo. Australians employ booze-related emoji at double the average rate, while the romantic French send four times the average number of hearts. Spanish speakers apparently love those party-time emoji, and speakers of Arabic send more plants, flowers, and bikinis than anyone else. The most popular junk food in the U.S. and Canada is pizza, but sweet-toothed Australians vastly prefer the lollipop.
The study also breaks down a section for “raunchy” emoji — you know the ones we’re talking about. Americans have the dubious honor of being the world leader in eggplant emoji use. (Italians, it seems, prefer the banana for their dick jokes, while Canadians have taken a rather NSFW interpretation of the Cancer astrological sign.) Science, y’all.
(h/t The Atlantic)
