WIRED
“(Church emoji) (smiling pile of poo emoji), I can’t believe I get to see you in 24 hours,” I type to my sister with the help of the emoji keyboard. She replies with an excited, “I can’t wait! But fair warning, the house looks like (smiling pile of poo) because we’ve been so busy.” I put an end to her ridiculous idea that family has to impress family with a clean house with an “(Scissors) the (smiling pile of poo). I know you have a (smiling pile of poo) (dump truck) of work to do. You’re fine.”
“The Smiling Pile of Poo,” more commonly recognized by its image than its Siri-given name, has in recent years become a staple of computer-mediated communication. With its own oral history in Fast Company, a Buzzfeed article dedicated to its uses, and a permanent home on the recently used section on the keyboards of many, there is no denying its popularity. Aside from the alarming fact that the iPhone is Santa’s most popular request and seventh grade boys are in fact gaining access to the emoji technology at a much faster rate, we have to wonder why the seemingly strange and immature emoji was included on the keyboard and why it is used so often.
Megan Adams
Megan Adams is a writer and emoji user studying at American University in Washington, DC.
As everything becomes digitalized, we have fewer tools in our belts for communicating our emotions and the meaning behind our words. Recent research shows that our brains are wired to process emotion in a holistic manner that takes into account the tone of voice, facial expression, and other non-verbal cues. This makes it more difficult for us to process and understand emotions when they are communicated via computer-mediated communication such as through text messaging. That’s actually where emoji come in: They provide the flirtatious winks to a new friend from the bar down the street or the clapping hands to show support to your daughter when work keeps you from her dance recital.
“But what makes your favorite emoji, the smiling of poo, so important?” you may ask. “What about my favorite, sarcastic side eye emoji or the festive snowflake?” While I acknowledge the importance of sarcastic side eye in adding a sassy flair or annoyed tone and the cuteness factor of a snowflake at the end of a tweet published on December 1, I stand by the smiling pile of poo for its importance as something more. When dinner conversation and compliments to the chef have been replaced by Instagram uploads of dishes and computer-mediated conversation is rapidly becoming more common than a face-to-face interaction, the smiling pile of poo—with its relatability and versatility—is our only solace.
When your date is looking down at his phone at dinner and you’re fed up, what better way to get his attention than to shoot him a message with the sweet face of a smiling pile of poo? In a setting as limited as the emoji keyboard, every image counts so the more relatable, the better. While those who live on the island of Maui may have never seen snow or a sweet grandmother may have no understanding of the sarcastic side eye, the smiling pile of poo is something we can all identify with. After all, “Everyone Poops.”
The smiling pile of poo also has the ability to convey emotions from happiness (remember, it is smiling) to annoyance (as if to say, “Hey, you’re acting like this smug little guy right now and I’m tired of it). The smiling pile of poo also gives each of us the important ability to tell a friend that we won’t be meeting them for coffee because we feel like (piece of cake) (smiling pile of poo) or we’re just too (smiling pile of poo) (outbox). In this way, the smiling pile of poo has returned a sense of both complexity and friendliness to our everyday conversations.
In an increasingly cold world, all we need for a little warmth is a smiling pile of poo.
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