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ABSTRACT
One of the innovations which the new age of information explosion brought along is the highly developed method of socio-semiotic communication in the digital media known as emoticons/emojis. These small pictograph symbols are becoming increasingly popular and used within the digital media space of everyday communication, insomuch that some linguists and researchers have perceived this new means of communication to be an independent, symbolically interactive language rather than a mere stylistic addition. The development has been in functional use since the 20th century, with its applications in the contexts of different modes and mediums of communication becoming widespread in the wake of this last decade, and the reliance of the virtual world on them has only increased with the passing of time. In this research, we will investigate how emoticons/emojis have evolved, their linguistic and paralinguistic functions, as well as their use as communication tools by university students, particularly the students of the University of Benin. And for the sake of the topic under study, the researcher will employ the use of graphical representations to bring more clarity and better interpretation of facts to the work.
