This week, I read ‘Do pictures help tell the story? An experimental test of narrative and emojis in a health text message intervention’ by Jessica Fitts Willoughby and Shuang Liu. The study looked into how the use of emojis in text messages relates to mobile health for college students.
One thing I found interesting is that non-narrative message and no use of emojis led to increased text message elaboration. This makes a lot of sense to me because generally, people use emojis to replace words or emphasize messages. The Elaboration Likelihood Model explains that elaboration can activate more central processing and lead to long term behavior change.
If a health provider is trying to pass along a message that viewers will engage in and has increased elaboration, they should stray away from narratives and emojis. If a health provider is trying to pass along a message that doesn’t require central processing or does not encourage elaboration, such as a reminder for health behavior that viewers already favor, they should use narrative and emojis so that the message is not scrutinized as much.
This was interesting to me because it infers that people do not read as much into or scrutinize messages with emojis and narratives. The article also suggests that emojis increase attentiveness and receptiveness an individual has to a message. To me, this sounds like emojis are a peaceful and eye-grabbing way to send a message. They add a lighthearted nature to the messages being sent.
That being said, emojis are not always appropriate depending on the circumstances or content of the message. In my opinion, emojis should never be used in a health text message. Emojis could potentially be useful in a health-promotion photo or message but never in a situation where results are being shared or sensitive topics are being discussed. I don’t think it takes a whole study to tell us that emojis decrease credibility of doctors. This seems pretty self-explanatory and common sense to me.
I also think that this article overestimates the usage of emojis by young people. As a college student, I rarely see emojis used amongst my peers. If they are used, it is generally in an ironic way or the person is using one simple emoji, such as a heart. I actually believe that the older generations rely on and incorporate emojis into their daily texting patterns more than young people. I receive more emojis from my parents than I do from my friends.
In conclusion, I think if any professionals, including professionals, are trying to convey a message to college students, they should avoid the use of emojis. I think young people discredit both people who use emojis and message that contain emojis. If there is a serious health issue on campus that needs to be addressed, leave the emojis out of it. I see no reason to use emojis when encouraging college students to focus on their health. That seems a bit elementary or geriatric in my opinion – not suited for college students or young adults.
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