New research from Discord titled “The Emoji Effect”, reveals that 80% of Aussie Gen Z’s always/often use emojis, and are leading the charge across all age groups when it comes to emoji usage. And with seven out of ten (71%) younger Aussies (aged 18-34) feeling they can better express their personality through emojis as opposed to words, emoji power could in fact be making the internet a more welcoming place.

The global survey of 16,000 emoji users sought to identify how younger generations including Gen Z and Millennials are shaping the future of emojis when it comes to fostering diversity and inclusion, digital connections and how people express themselves. Every minute, more than 455,000 emojis globally are used on Discord and are the secret sauce to building connections, trust and togetherness online.

Outside of this, Discord unveiled some other intriguing figures for how emojis are helping Australians form deeper connections in their conversations:

• A strong majority of Australians (91%) feel emojis have a positive impact on the tone of a conversation
• Around two thirds of Australians (64%) feel more understood when people use emojis in response to their messages
• Two-thirds of Australians (66%) also report that when they start using more emojis with someone, they’ve reached true friendship status
• And here are some of the more popular ways that Aussies are using emojis today:
  • when joking with others (91%)
  • trying to appear fun and playful (91%)
  • sharing good news with someone (85%)
  • when flirting (71%)
  • trying to cut the tension of a conversation (70%)

“One of the most popular behaviors we’re seeing on our platform is the use of emojis, so we were really interested in understanding how they make Australians feel and their full potential,” says Nicole Brendis, Director of Consumer Product Marketing at Discord. “Among Gen Z globally and in Australia, we have seen a strong desire for emojis to not just represent our emotions, but also create deeper connections in more authentic ways.”

Join our MKAU Gaming Discord here and show us your emoji game.