Some people like to use long texts to convey their thoughts and feelings to friends, but me? I prefer to send an endless string of Emojis nearly impossible to decipher. It keeps things interesting that way! The only problem I continually run into is that there are just not enough options to truly express my full range of emotions. Thankfully, though, the new Emojis for 2021 have just been announced—and I can finally get excited about texting again.
Because we didn’t expect new Emojis to be released until at least 2022 due to the pandemic (according to CNN Business), this is such a technological treat. If you, like me, have gotten tired of using the same Emojis day after day, the new year is about to bring you over 200 (!!!) new options. It’s a limited “Emoji 13.1” release that we can all expect to see arrive on our phones throughout 2021, and I cannot wait.
Luckily, we already know some of the new arrivals to anticipate. You’ll find the addition of a Bandaged Heart Emoji, Head in the Clouds Emoji, Face with Spiral Eyes Emoji, Heart on Fire Emoji (a mood) and a Face Exhaling Emoji. Honestly, all of these are how I feel on a daily basis, and will definitely become part of my Emoji repertoire as soon as they’re released. I mean, could anything represent the year 2020 more than a heart on fire and a face with squiggly eyes? I think not.
Courtesy of Emojipedia; Adobe.
Along with fun options that will allow me to express when my heart is ~literally~ on fire (OK, maybe not literally, but a good sweat sesh or seeing a photo of Harry Styles can make it feel like that) or give me the capability to stop typing *sigh* and replacing that text with an appropriate exasperated Emoji face, this update also includes some new gender-inclusive Emojis, too. You’ll see new couple Emojis and more options for folks who are non-binary, gender fluid or who express themselves in ways we haven’t seen reflected in Emojis before.
Though most businesses haven’t even changed their restrooms to gender-neutral yet, at least more folks will be able to send an Emoji that looks like them. (A small win that I’ll take for now—or until the end of the day.)
Courtesy of Emojipedia; Adobe.
There will be a range of different skin tones available for Emojis like Woman with Beard, Person with Beard and Man with Beard, along with more options for racially diverse couples. As a white cis-woman who happens to be dating someone Black and non-binary, I will finally have the perfect cheesy Emoji to plaster all over my couple Instagram captions. (Sorry not sorry!) Representation is important everywhere, folks—even in Emojis.
While we don’t know exactly when to expect each of these to show up, the new Emojis will be sprinkled into your phone keyboards throughout 2021. Until they do, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled and my fingers poised above the keys.
