History of Emoticons and Emojis
As members of society become increasingly attached to our phones and technology, the aloof faces and and images of a secondary keyboard are increasingly seen. They aid in conveying emotion via text and e-mail. Emoticons make sure nothing is lost in translation and nonverbal cues can be added to a conversation that isn't happening face to face. While sometimes coming off as a little too casual and unprofessional, their lighthearted nature does have its place in academic feedback and workplace messages.
The first recorded usage of an emoticon took place in an 1881 magazine. They serve as a reaction or display of emotion. The admittedly unsettling faces conveyed four ever important emotions in print for the first time. This magazine was known for political satire and commentary, almost like a predecessor to 'The Onion'.
The word emoticon is a combination of emotion, and icon. Sarcasm is far more evident in a message when it is followed by the stalwart face of indifference. With enough creativity, you can create just about any expression imaginable using a keyboard. The modern birth of emoticons came from professor Scott Fahlman in 1982. He suggested the usage of a smiley face to make it clear if a joke was being told and prevent misunderstandings.
As online chatrooms and messaging become more common in the nineties, the usage of emoticons went up. They help to follow up a statement with added connotation subbing in for vocal inflections and facial expressions.
On the other side of the world Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji whilst working for a mobile carrier. Emojis are basically the upgraded descendant of emoticons. Offering a wider variety of colorful expressions, items, and people. The far more detailed images can be added to any message to take it from cold and distant to cordial and forgiving. As more and more generations adopt texting as part of their daily routine emojis become a more frequent site. As of 2015, over six billion emojis were sent daily. Chances are this number has drastically increased. 
With every IOS update countless emojis are added for anything you could ever possibly imagine. So many modern emojis are useless in about 98% of situations, but when the time comes and you for some peculiar reason need a moped or a microscope emoji, it will be there.
Another modern update from emoticons is the transcendence past facial expressions. Some have changed in meaning, such as the crying emoji often used to depict humor and laughter. Others are items that serve to represent something else. Possibly seen as an extension of slang, a fire emoji would be used to show when something is cool rather than the presence of an actual fire. There are even special apps where you can create your own custom ones such as Memoji. They are usable in the format of selfies even mimicking your expressions incase you feel the generated 3D image better conveys feeling than your actual expressions. As more time passes and the massive library of emojis increases, emoticons become increasingly obsolete. 
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