Abstract:

Emojis which are visual symbols deployed in digital communication have become essential tools for expression sharing among young adults, especially university students in Nigeria. This study investigates the encoding and decoding of emojis on social media for expression sharing among university students in Anambra State. Grounded by the symbolic interaction theory, this study was designed as a descriptive survey. With a sample size of 537 students randomly drawn from nine universities in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria. Findings reveal that 72% of the respondents could decode the common emojis used in shared expressions thus indicating that emojis play a critical role in facilitating emotional expression and social interaction among the respondents on social media. The study recommends that emojis should be part of general communication portfolio not just for students but for the larger society both in formal and informal settings as it helps to reduce verbosity and save time compared to lengthy handwritten texts.