If you’re looking to spice up your relationship, upping your emoji game might be key. 

Researchers in Texas took a deep dive into the mystery behind emojis and communication between couples. 

More than 200 adults from their 20s to 60s were asked to read 15 text message exchanges, with the only difference being the presence or lack of emojis. 

They found people who sprinkle smiley faces and thumbs ups in their texts get faster responses and feel closer to and more satisfied with their partners. 

The fun symbols also boosted attentiveness and emotional engagements and it didn’t matter if the icons were smiling, laughing or crying – just the use alone produced the results, regardless of the type of specific emoji.  

The team believe using emojis provides visual appeal and color to texts that enhances mood when messaging.  

The human brain can also recognize images in 13 milliseconds, making emojis a means for rapid, easy communication.

Researchers in Texas found people with partners who use emojis while texting felt more satisfied with their relationship (stock image)

Eun Huh, study author and graduate student at the university of Texas at Austin, said: ‘The study revealed that emojis can boost relationship satisfaction by signaling emotional attentiveness.

‘Interestingly, it’s not the type of emoji but simply their presence that makes people feel closer to their partner.’

The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS one, surveyed 260 adults ranging in age from 23 to 67 years. They were randomly assigned to read 15 text message exchanges that varied only in the presence or absence of emojis in the text.

These emojis were both facial (smiling or frowning faces) and non-facial emojis (hand signals).

Messages with emojis were combated with plain language with an absence of any sort of additional expression. One example was: ‘it’s been a long week. I’m so tired.’

Participants were then told to imagine that they were the sender of these messages and focus on their partner’s replies.

Random attention tests were used to ensure that the subjects’ responses were reliable. One example of this was the prompt: ‘in order to prove that you are reading questions attentively, please select 2.’

The team found participants rated partners who used emojis as more responsive than partners who just used text.

They also felt closer and more satisfied communicating with their partners when they used emojis.

The researchers suggested emojis, as ready-made visual cues, enhance digital communication by conveying emotional tone, expressiveness and warmth.

Surprisingly, they found no difference between face and non-face emojis, suggesting the type of emoji may not be a significant role in effective communication.

The above image shows example text prompts shown to participants in the study

Instead, it’s more likely the presence of emojis alone increases satisfaction.

Previous research supports the idea that emojis function as digital equivalents to facial and non-verbal expressions.

A recent Pew research study revealed eight in 10 Americans incorporate emojis into their digital interactions. 

For people in relationships, 72 percent of teenagers and young adults report texting with their partner every day.

For long distance relationships this goes even farther.

In a similar study published in 2024, Simon Dubé of Indiana University investigated the associations between emoji use frequency, attachment style and emotional intelligence across genders and relationship types.

For women, higher levels of attachment avoidance – discomfort with emotional intimacy and a preference for independence – were correlated with sending and receiving emojis less often with friends and dating or romantic partners.

For men, higher levels of attachment avoidance was correlated with sending fewer emojis to such partners but not in receiving them less often.