People follow emotion display rules when choosing emoticons on social media

This study examined whether people use emoticons on Facebook in the same way they display emotions via facial expressions in face-to-face interaction. In an online experimental study (N = 124), participants completed the “Emoticon Display Rules on Facebook” (EDRF) scale adapted from the Display Rule Assessment Inventory (DRAI). People tend to use more positive emoticons in public settings, and more negative ones in private settings. They also use more and more intense emoticons with close friends and acquaintances than strangers. This study provides further support for the positivity bias on Facebook and shows that emoticons are simply used to express emotions in the same ways as in face-to-face interactions.