Are Emojis a Mask for Real Feelings?

By Rod Anderson, CP Cartoonist Tuesday, July 04, 2017

I love using emojis in my text messages. Most of us do these days. They serve as a quick way to respond, with or without any accompanying words. Maybe the added whimsy, humor or emotion is what helps us feel a little more connected to the person on the other side. But it's easy to falsely assume we know someone through texts and snaps and give them the impression they know us through the smiling, laughing emoticons we use.

Those emojis, like the Instagram and SnapChat accounts we scroll through, have a way of convincing us that everyone else is doing great; fully succeeding in life, love and happiness. Of course, this is often not the case at all. But when we compare our reality to what we see to be true elsewhere (Satan's original strategy dating back to the garden) we feel worse about ourselves.

In 2015 I created and conducted an online anonymous survey that showed the majority of responders believing they were the only ones struggling with feelings of inadequacy. In their minds, all their friends were perfect while they were failing to measure up. Moderate to high stress, anxiety and depression characterized over half the respondents, with additional mental health issues also common. Not surprising, among these same respondent's social media use was also high.