Quick on why emoji are worth studying, and why the topic isn’t quite the frivolous, superficial phenomenon it’s often made out to be (or at least, that's a reaction I still regularly get):

1. The sheer popularity of them makes them an intriguing focus for study. Given that they’re used by almost all demographics and on a global scale, this popularity prompts some interesting questions about the development and future of human communication.

2. They’re a native form of communication for digital media (along with gifs, memes, etc), so can tell us a lot about the nature of online communication - and particularly the relation between verbal and visual communication.

3. Their development, functions and use relate directly to the history of human writing systems, so they act as an excellent vantage point from which to look back on this history.

4. As with so much of internet culture, their existence is shaped, and in some sense owned, by a few, huge tech corporations, which is markedly different from most other fundamental language technology (e.g. the alphabet!).

5. They’re expressly political, in the way they represent and reflect society, along with particular cultural values - and regularly attract controversy and debate over how they do this.

6. Part of their popularity comes from the creative play they facilitate, so they’re an excellent focus for studies into everyday creativity.

7. Despite their frivolous image, they’re used for all sorts of scenarios, from public mourning to political campaigning. This use raises questions about topics such as appropriateness, etiquette and cultural norms.

8. They’re often proposed (albeit rather unconvincingly) as a solution to issues such as trolling and online abuse, and are used as part of anti-bullying campaigns and other social initiatives.

There are probably many other reasons which I’ve missed - but the general point is that the study of emoji can be a serious business, not least because they’re interwoven with so much else that takes place or gets discussed on social media these days.

Thanks. Yes, I touched briefly on the use of emojis in legal contexts in my book, and I expect this has only increased since I wrote that section.