World Emoji Day: these are the new emojis most used across the UAE

From love heart hands to peeking through fingers, here are most popular emojis on social media

For World Emoji Day on July 17, Emojipedia has compiled a list along with sample images containing 31 draft emojis for Emoji 15.0. Getty Images

While there may be many different ways used to express yourself around the world, few are quite as universal as the humble emoji.

From the basic smiling face to hand gestures and inclusive skin tones, the emoji has been adapted by different cultures and generations the world over.

And with close to 3,400 emojis now in use, the ever-growing list is making cross-cultural communication easier than ever.

Sunday marks World Emoji Day, and to celebrate, Emojipedia has compiled a list along with sample images containing 31 draft emojis for Emoji 15.0, which will be unveiled in September and is reported to be released later this year.

While there’s always the chance the draft emojis could change between now and then, based on the history of past releases it seems most, if not all, will make it through.

High fives, colourful hearts and a shaking face are some of the contenders for new emojis. Others include a wireless emoji, a baby blue and light pink heart, as well as new animals and plants.

Last year, 112 new emojis were added. And Facebook and Instagram have revealed which of last year’s new symbols are the most used across the UAE.

For Facebook comments, the most popular new emojis used over the past 12 months include a yellow face with tears welling up at the bottom of its large eyes, a yellow face with its hands over its eyes and raised eyebrows, and two hands forming a heart shape.

The birth of the emoji

Emojis were first launched in the 1990s, when Shigetaka Kurita, an employee with Japanese mobile network NTT DoCoMo, began working on an idea to lure teenagers to a new mobile internet service.

He created 176 characters, each 12 pixels square, which took inspiration from kanji — the Japanese script originating in China — and manga, the hugely popular comic art.

Mobile phone manufacturers doubted the potential of the resulting array of birds, suns, watches, and broken hearts, but Kurita’s hunch was right. They were a hit.

His original set is now part of The Museum of Modern Art’s collection in New York.