Emoticons attract the young and the old

People in the age group 19-25 are the most smitten by emoticons, with about 68 per cent using smileys daily, a survey by online portal Yahoo! revealed.

Emoticons, which have completed 25 years of existence, are animated facial expressions that allows people to show how they feel in cyberspace. Emoticons changed the way emails were perceived in the early years.

They introduced the much needed colour to the otherwise bland and impersonal emails and chat forums. From a simple colon, a dash and a closed bracket, emoticons have become a part of everyday online experience.

However, its not just the younger generation embracing emoticons. Nearly 48 per cent of users over 50 use emoticons in their everyday communication.

The Yahoo! survey further indicates that 82 per cent of Yahoo Messenger subscribers use emoticons while chatting. The perception though is that emoticons are used more by women. Men, said the survey, are more prone to use instant messengers and emoticons to fire someone (14 per cent) versus women (11 per cent).

The majority of survey respondents said they best express themselves in IM using emoticons. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) rely on emoticons to best express their feelings, while 17 per cent on internet slang (i.e. LOL, GR8) and 13 per cent on photo-sharing.

Yahoo! plans to celebrate the emoticons' milestone with an 'Emoticontest'. It is inviting users to submit their favourite expressions to compete for the next set of emoticons. The winner's emoticons will be featured on Yahoo! Messengers service worldwide.