For years, the OED went at least somewhat dignified with their new “words of the year” selections. In 2014 they selected “vape”; in 2013 it was “selfie”—two words we’d all dutifully added to our daily lives. But times are hard. So hard that the Dictionary’s celebrated addition this year is just... a picture.
Via Time, the press release explaining the decision:
“Although emoji have been a staple of texting teens for some time, emoji culture exploded into the global mainstream over the past year,” the company’s team wrote in a press release. “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 their research, the “Face With Tears of Joy” emoji is the most popular; the face blowing a kiss is a close second. Congrats, humanity: We’ve truly outdone ourselves.
“On Fleek,” “refugee,” and “dark web” also made the 2015 list.
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Image via Meme Vault via Shigetaka Kuritia, their creator.