While we’re still stuck on using emoticons ;), it is fun to see a roundup of the most-used emojis around the world this year. The Unicode Consortium (basically every company that uses emojis) has released its annual list, and one face, in particular, is far and away in the number one spot.

Turns out that even in a year that wasn’t so fun, the Tears of Joy (πŸ˜‚.) emoji accounted for a whopping 5% of total emoji use. And, what’s more, the second most popular emoji is the classic heart (❀️ ). We’re taking it as a sign that people are still smiling and sending love, and we’re down with it.

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In order, the ten most popular emojis for 2021 are:

  1. πŸ˜‚
  2. ❀️
  3. 🀣
  4. πŸ‘
  5. 😭
  6. πŸ™
  7. 😘
  8. πŸ₯°
  9. 😍
  10. 😊

On the flipside, the report found that of all the emoji categories (faces, animals, and so on…) the least popular by far was flags. And as for the emoji that made the biggest jump this year? Of all things, it was the Pleading Face (πŸ₯Ί ), which jumped from the 97th spot in 2020 to the 14th spot in 2021. Next year? We’re predicting that the Woozy Face (πŸ₯΄ ) is making the jump.

To check out the full roundup of the most popular emojis for 2021, just click here! And keep on cry-laughing, folks!

Curiocity Staff

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