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In honour of World Emoji Day, Meta has released the top trending emojis that Pakistanis have been using to communicate what words can’t — sometimes emotions are captured better through little cartoon figures. They have also announced an exciting update and clarified what some of the most used emojis mean.

Trends show emojis are quickly becoming the universal visual language understood by all. From Gen Z to Baby Boomers, people from all generations find it convenient to ‘speak’ emoji when it comes to connecting with friends and family, co-workers and acquaintances.

Pakistan’s Gen Z users, aged between 18 and 24 years, used the️ ❤️ (red heart) the most, followed by 😂 (face with tears of joy), (heavy black heart), 👍 (thumbs up) and 🤣 (rolling on the floor laughing).

Millennials, aged 25 to 44 years, also preferred the ❤️ ️(red heart) the most. 👍 (thumbs up) and 😂 (face with tears of joy) remained the second and third favourites on their list.

Lastly, Gen X and Baby Boomers, aged 45 and above also preferred the ️❤️ (red heart) and 👍 (thumbs up) as well as the 💕 (two hearts) in their conversations.

Amongst the newly released emojis on Facebook, the face holding back tears remained the top favourite in Pakistan. It was followed by face with peeking eye, saluting face, heart hands and melting face.

Sports emojis are also among the most popular sets of emojis on Facebook. In Pakistan, 🏌️ (golfing), ⚽ (soccer ball) and 🏹 (bow and arrow) topped the list. While the soccer ball remained the most popular sports emoji in the world on Facebook, on Instagram 🏏 (cricket bat and ball) was on top of the list. 🏋️‍♂️ (weightlifting) held the number one position for Pakistani Instagram users.

Emojis keep conversations informal and fun, and are quickly changing the way people interact with one another. The younger generation is making most use of it and the Gen Z in Pakistan is no different. They were found to be using the most diverse emoji set in their conversations such as 🚑 (ambulance), 🤡 (clown face), 💀 (skull), 🙃 (upside down face) and more to express themselves.

Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg has introduced an update for the reaction feature on WhatsApp. Earlier users could only use six emojis to react to messages and group chats, which has now been changed to the full emoji keyboard to make conversations more lively and fun.

WhatsApp and Emojipedia have also launched explanations for some of the new emojis used frequently in chats to settle the dispute amongst users.

Caps can be more than an accessory in your wardrobe choices.

Aside from the obvious melting from the summer heat implication, melting face has another layer to it.

One can die without dying where the emoji board is concerned.

We suggest you take notes on this one.

What’s your favourite emoji?