Oxford Dictionaries made history on Monday by announcing that the word which they believe best personifies the collective experience of English-speakers in 2015 was not a word at all. Instead, “Face With Tears of Joy” emoji has been selected as the word of the year. Behold it above, in all its terrifying glory.
In a press release, the OED explained:
Although emoji have been a staple of texting teens for some time, emoji culture exploded into the global mainstream over the past year. Emoji have come to embody a core aspect of living in a digital world that is visually driven, emotionally expressive, and obsessively immediate.
According to TIME, “the “Face With Tears of Joy” emoji, also known as LOL Emoji or Laughing Emoji, comprised nearly 20% of all emoji use in the U.S. and the U.K., where Oxford is based.” The runner-up “word,” at 9% of all emoji used in the U.S. and the U.K., was cheeky winking emoji blowing a kiss.
What a time to be alive.
(via Jezebel and TIME, image via Shutterstock)
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