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Parents beware: Kids know secret emoji language

Posted 9:44 pm, May 10th, 2016, by Tammy Vigil, Updated at 10:23pm, May 10^th, 2016

[1] It was Oxford Dictionary's word of the year. And it's quickly becoming

[2] the pervasive language of the Internet - after Apple included an emoji

[3] keyboard on its phones five years ago.

[4] It's estimated 6 billion emojis are sent each day. But the cartoonish,

[5] seemingly innocent and playful use of emojis can have a dark side. It's

[6] a new form of communication Sheila Allison and her 12-year-old use

[7] regularly.

[8] "I work odd hours. When she's getting ready to go to sleep, it's not

[9] appropriate for me to be on the phone or call and have her hear my

[10] voice. So emojis with the zzz's, princess and kisses. That gets a really

[11] good message to her," Allison said.

[12] Emojis are on TV. Even commercials advertise with the picture

[13] characters. But the problem with these icons of faces, hand gestures,

[14] fruits, animals and other symbols is they don't always mean what you

[15] think, especially for parents.

[16] Hidden meanings

[17] "It doesn't mean anything to them. But it does to those who are fluent

[18] in emoji, the secret language of emoji," said Mike Harris, who tracks

[19] down child predators.

[20] He works for the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office and said he

[21] has to learn this whole new language of more than 1,200 emojis.

[22] “One symbol can mean three or four different things. That's what makes

[23] it complicated for those who are not familiar with this," Harris said.

[24] So he uses the "Speak Emoji" app to translate what people are saying

[25] because emojis can be used to harass, threaten and commit other

[26] crimes.

[27] Threatening emojis

[28] Harris said some emojis are obviously threatening. A 12-year-old

[29] Virginia girl was prosecuted for using gun, bomb, and knife emojis on

[30] Instagram with the phrase "meet me in the library Tuesday." But some

[31] emojis aren't so obvious.

[32] • A frog can mean someone is "ugly." […]

[33] • A smiling pile of poop is another profanity.

[34] • Strung together, a running man and a bowling ball means,

[35] "I'm going to hit you."

[36] "Something as simple as a flower can mean drugs", Harris said.

[37] Parents also should know some emojis are sexual. A peach, an

[38] eggplant and raindrops reference carnal desire. […] “They are taking

[39] fruit to a whole new level here, right?" her mom said.

[40] What makes emojis so complicated for parents is they have no set

[41] definition like words and their meaning can vary. [...]

(Retrieved and adapted from http://kdvr.com/2016/05/10/parents-beware-your-kids-probablyknow-secret-emoji-language/. Access on August 8th, 2016)