Twitter, a platform where anything can go on trending had the same effect on the folding hands' emoji. People began debating on this topic. So, what’s this emoji? This emoji is basically two hands pressed together with the thumps pointing in an upward direction.
In Indian culture, the emoji is used as a greeting (commonly called namaste). It is also a symbol of a person seeking forgiveness or praying. Whereas, in Japanese culture, the folding hands are used to show gratitude and are referred to as “itadakimasu” which is commonly used before meals.
This debate started when a Twitter user searched for the high-five emoji and this emoji was shown. Then another user commented that it is programmed differently for every user. Someone was getting this emoji either for high-five or praying or even both. Moreover, it looked different on every phone.
The Thumb Rule
Many different theories came into existence as some said while giving a high-five, the thumbs move in opposite directions but in the emoji, it was in the same direction. So definitely it was a praying emoji. But somehow many people contradicted this theory too.
The Verdict
According to Emojipedia (an emoji library), no one was the winner. They believe that this emoji can have many distinctive meanings. And everyone can use it in their own different ways.
Coming to my personal perspective, we Indians have followed our culture and celebrated all the festivals across generations where this gesture has played a significant role. On top of that, we are also taught by our parents to have respect for others, and bow down to our elders. Furthermore, we also pray to our Gods by folding our hands forming an upward posture.
And when we talk about western culture, it’s different from the Indian culture. It’s much more casual in comparison. In India, we don’t usually get comfortable with elders while in the West, it is much more candid.
Now if we see from this angle, this emoji represents both of these cultures, it mainly depends on the receiver's perception. People use emojis as a representation of their feelings and to show their emotions.
To illustrate this in a clearer manner, we can take the smiling emoji as an instance. A smile represents that you are happy but sometimes people use the same emoji sarcastically.
The main motto of the emojis was to keep the conversations short and interesting, but it has started to become a mode of conversation. Nowadays, people use emojis more than they use syllables. And yes, emojis are usually used in casual conversations rather than professional ones. Using them during professional work can result in a bad impression.
Conclusion
Emojis are just a representation of your feelings and emotions so, whether the companies put it there as a high-five or a gesture of praying should not matter to anyone. It’s completely your choice and perspective.
And we all know that words have different meanings in different countries. So, it’s the same with emojis, we use them according to the user's perspective, not by any rule or a standard set by the companies.
The West is used to the gesture of high-fives as a friendly greeting. And emojis were used initially in the U.S. Hence, the folding hands emoji was created to represent high-fives but when it reached different countries, people started using it in different contexts.
Written by - Akash Agrawal
Edited by - Daity Talukdar
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