The Role of Emojis and Emoticons in Enhancing Interpersonal Communication through Messenger and WhatsApp Applications

Communication process is not only speaking or writing words. It is very a complex matter that requires factors affective such as language, grammar, experience and non-verbal elements. Sign language and facial expressions can reveal what person is trying to express than what person actually says in in conversation of face-to-face interactions. However, in text-based communication. The absence of non-verbal can cause misunderstanding and confusion in interpersonal communication. This study focuses on the role of emojis and emoticons in communication technology, specially Messenger and WhatsApp application. This study depends on a theory called (Media Richness Theory) that is proposed by Daft and Lengel. The method used is qualitative research method. Research results show that emoji and emoticons have very important role in interpersonal communication technology.