Scots don’t hide their emoticons

Symbols get the thumbs up as an alternative method of communicating everything from feelings, arguments and phoning in sick – to asking someone out

MODERN Scots are literally lost for words, with almost a third admitting they find it easier to send an emoji than describe how they feel.

According to a nationwide survey, 27 per cent of Scots regularly argue with friends and colleagues by emoji and a quarter have used them to ask someone out on a date.

Some 15 per cent notified their boss they were sick using an emoji rather than phoning in.

About 37 per cent of those surveyed say they find it hard to talk about their emotions, while 31 per cent feel unable to talk to friends about serious matters.

Overall, 98 per cent of Scots regularly use emojis in communication, according to the data, while almost half use them as their main form of communication.

The average Scot will use 32 emojis each day in emails, instant messages and on social media.

The most popular emoji among Scots is thumbs up – whereas for the UK as a whole it’s face with tears of joy.

Red heart comes in at number two in Scotland – but over the UK it’s at number six. Second in the rankings for the UK is thumbs up.

Third most popular in Scotland is thinking face – but that’s nine in the UK, with smiling face with smiling eyes in at number three in the UK.

The research, commissioned by Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibition, found that one-third believe emojis, like Egyptian hieroglyphics, are replacing text altogether.

Hieroglyphics were used for 3500 years, first carved in ancient Egypt as far back as 3200BC whereas the first set of emojis were released in 1997.

British Egyptologist Chris Naunton, who analysed the findings for the Tutankhamun exhibition said: “Emojis are classified as a pictographic and ideographic writing system that uses symbols to represent an object or an idea rather than specific words – at first glance very similar to the way people communicated right the way back in 3000BC. “Although at first glance hieroglyphics may also appear to function in a similar way, the language is actually far more layered and complex than an emoji.” Some emojis may reveal your age. According to the study, using thumbs up, the check mark and the face screaming in fear all indicate that you are officially “over the hill”. About 24 per cent admit that they have used an emoji without realising it had a ruder meaning – the classic example being the aubergine, which is commonly used to signify a penis. And 53 per cent of Scots said they’d made the mistake of sending an inappropriate symbol by accident, such as a smiley face in a message replying to bad news. That’s higher than the UK average where 45 per cent said they’d sent the wrong emoji by accident. John Norman, MD of IMG Exhibitions, the organisers of the Tutankhamun exhibition, said: “It’s fascinating to see how the survey shows a direct link to the ancient use of hieroglyphic symbols with our current obsession with using emojis. Pictorial language is as alive now as it was in Tutankhamun’s time.” The data found that 16 to 29-year-olds use more emojis every day compared to the over 60s – with the younger group sending 43 and the older ones sending just seven daily. Women are keener on emojis than men, with 95 per cent using them, compared to 87 per cent of men. And it seems some people think we could dispense with written words altogether at some point in the future. The study found that 22 per cent of the Scottish adults polled believe that the English language might one day evolve into a pictorial language because of the popularity of emojis.