Analysis of The Use of Interpersonal Communication Emoji on Whatsapp Use Among Students

The presence of social media has led to changes in the online community participation. Public participation does not only happen in the real world but also in cyberspace (Ali & Samsudin, 2012). In fact, social media has had a huge impact on community involvement in current issues. Lack of individual knowledge of the emoji forms used, might cause unintentional meaning or purpose to be communicated. The main aim of this study is to identify the forms of emoji that have been used in Whatsapp applications and to study the effects of emoji use in interpersonal communication of the final year student of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). A total of six informants consisting of UUM's final year students who differ from their hometown have committed themselves as informants. This study uses a semi structured interview approach to collect information. The findings show that the forms of emoji used in WhatsApp applications are very important to every individual such as happy, love, dancing, angry, and sad emoji forms depending on how often they are used. In fact, the effects of using emoji in interpersonal communication are also very important factors to look at the level of their reaction with the use of the emoji by looking through four parts namely clear messages, interpretations, interactions and emotions. The effects of using this emoji depend largely on the recipient's interpretations of the emoji sent and their reaction to it.