Texting habits mean you have higher emotional intelligence

If you love using emojis, you’ll love this message.

Researchers at Indiana University say people who frequently use emojis tend to have higher emotional intelligence, or the ability to understand, perceive and manage their own and other people’s emotions.

Lower use of emojis with friends and romantic partners has been linked to a personality style called avoidant attachment, which often prioritizes self-reliance and independence over emotional closeness and intimacy.

“This is the first study to link emoji use to key personal characteristics related to people’s communication skills and interpersonal relationships,” the study authors wrote Wednesday in the journal Plos One.

320 adults, mostly in their 30s, took an online survey that asked them about their attachment style, emotional intelligence and use of emojis.

There are three main types of attachment styles – anxious, avoidant and secure. People with anxious attachment often feel insecure in relationships and fear rejection or abandonment. Secure attachment is building healthy relationships filled with trust, love, affection, and respect.

More than 10 billion emojis are sent around the world every day, and the study authors determined that women use emojis with friends and family more frequently than men.

New research finds that people with higher emotional intelligence and secure attachment also tend to use emojis more frequently.

On the other hand, women with higher levels of avoidant attachment sent and received emojis less frequently with friends and romantic partners, while men with higher levels of avoidant attachment sent and received emojis less often with romantic partners.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations to their study, including that the participants were mostly white, educated, married and English-speaking heterosexual U.S. residents.

The study’s authors hope that future research will include larger, more diverse populations and explore the types of emojis exchanged, the content of the messages that accompany the emojis, and how these exchanges are viewed by different genders and relationship types.

“The way we interact during virtual communication may reveal more about ourselves,” the researchers said. “It’s more than just a smiley or heart emoji: it’s a way to convey meaning and communicate more effectively. , how you use it tells us something about you.”