a brief list-ory of emojis

clock, smiley face, thought bubble.

by steff yotka

The year is 2014, and as I am typing these words, the list of things you can't  do with emojis is growing shorter and shorter. Just this week Yelp announced that is it now possible to search their app with emojis, meaning that looking for a coffee shop now only necessitates the coffee cup emoji. (Pro tip: Do not search the kissy face emoji unless you want to be slightly shocked.)

After tooling around with the app, it's actually pretty fun to search with pictures. Finding a restaurant for your B-day is a lot easier with the confetti emoji, while finding a bar with the beer steins is about as literal as a search can get. But is there such a thing as too much emojis? Despite that fact that there's nothing more fun than texting your bestie a series of cute symbols, there's still something to be said for honest, person-to-person conversation, whether via text message or phone call. And, really, why do we find the little smiley faces so cute (or necessary) anyway? It's not like it's easier to say, "Let's meet at Rubirosa at 7:45 for pizza and wine" with symbols.

Still, emojis aren't going anywhere fast, so we've compiled a brief list-ory of everything you can use the little pictures for now. Check them all out in the slideshow, but know that when emojis are used for projecting our feelings above our heads The Sims-style, the emojis have won. 

photo via @lenadunham / Instagram

You can text them to your friends.

You can use oddball ones on Facebook.

photo via @mileycyrus/Instagram

You can create apt Instagram captions.

You can use them on Twitter. Finally.

You can watch a music video of them.

You can watch a Beyonce music video of them.

You can wear them on your loafers and clutches.

You can replace your normal set with Karl Lagerfeld-approved ones.

You can recap Game of Thrones with them.

You can search Yelp with them.