Today, decide what kind of emojis you will use in your texting with friends and have an agreement on what the emojis mean for your friends.
Proper Emoji Use:
| Category | Emojis | Best Use Case |
| Friendly/Polite | 😊 🙂 👋 | Acknowledge a message without being cold. |
| Agreement | 👍 ✅ 👌 🙌 | “Got it,” “Sounds good,” or “Great job.” |
| Humor (Safe) | 😂 🤣 💀 | Standard reaction to something funny. |
| Thoughtful | 🤔 🧐 📝 | Use when discussing an idea or “thinking out loud.” |
| The “Softener” | ✨ ☕ ☀️ | Adds a bit of cheer to a morning text or a plain sentence. |
Avoid these Emojis to keep the Text Away From Weird Flirting
- The “Heart” Variants: ❤️ 💖 💘 (Even the classic red heart is often seen as romantic.
- The Faces: 😉 (The wink is the universal sign for “I’m flirting/teasing”), 😍 (Heart eyes), or 😘 (Blowing a kiss).
3 Rules for G-Rated Texting Etiquette
1. One is Enough Over-using emojis such as “See you there! 😊😊😊✨✨” can come across as overly eager or “bubbly” in a way that might be misread as romantic interest. Stick to one or two per message.
2. Match the Energy If they don’t use emojis, keep yours to a minimum. If you send a string of emojis to someone who only uses periods, it creates a “personality gap” that can feel awkward.
3. Use the “Business Test” If you wouldn’t feel comfortable sending that specific emoji to a friendly coworker or a cousin, don’t send it to the person you’re trying to keep things platonic.
Example of a G-Rated “Softener”:
- Without emoji: “I’ll be there at 5.”
- With emoji: “5pm! 👍 or 1700?👍
- Both are fine. Place in your agreement how you feel about emoji’s and how you would like to use them with your text partner.