Emojis have literally taken over the world! Okay, maybe that is a bit of an overstatement but they have certainly infiltrated our dating world, as we know it.

Writing texts full of words has now been replaced with…the smiling poo and the dancing lady (still trying to figure out what the use is for those ones).

What I have learned is, when communicating with your date, there is a time and place for an emoji. An emoji can be used to your benefit to assert tone and feeling into your texts, often in place of punctuation sometimes. The use of emojis is meant to enhance your flirting experience and add a playful vibe to your dating dynamic. In a sense, emojis have revolutionized our form of communication and the way we date. Where words and tone could have been misinterpreted before, an emoji has the ability to set the stage for tone and feeling in the conversation.

Where emojis shouldn’t be used is in place of getting to know your date. If text is your communication of choice, you should still be engaging your date and asking questions about them. Also, just because your date uses emojis doesn’t necessarily mean you always have to use them. Over use of emojis can be overwhelming for some daters, especially if they do not know the meaning behind that particular emoji.

There is something to be said about the self-expression that comes from the use of an emoji when done right. Be aware of your personal style and have fun with it. As long as your date does not have to decipher your texts day in and day out, continue what is working for you.

Here are just some of the dating statistics regarding emoji use:

•  Emoji users in their 20s, 30s and 40s are more likely to report having sex at least monthly versus non-emoji users (USA TODAY).
•  The face with tears of joy is the most popular emoji, representing 15% of all emoji use (The Guardian).
•  Canada uses the poop, gun and money emoji more than any other English- speaking country (CBCNews).
•  50% of single men and women agreed that emojis show personality. Thirty- five percent of singles indicated that emojis make “expressing feelings” easier (Match.com).
•  Zoosk found that men with a smiley emoji “:)” in their dating profile get 6% less incoming messages and 12% fewer responses to outgoing messages. However, men where found to like the use of emojis by women in their dating profile. Women with a smiley emoji “:)” in their profile get 60% more messages (Time/Zoosk)