Recent research suggests different cultures interoperate facial expressions differently and this extends to the use of emoticons used throughout the Internet. The common smiley face we know - :-) - may not correlate with those within Eastern Asia.

Although the research is primarily concerned with natural, human facial expressions, the universities involved extrapolated further evidence to provide differences in interpretations between text emoticons:





Both these emoticons represent happiness. But which one do you associate happy with?


Differences were widely regarded to be related on the focus of a specific region of the face. While Asians typically scanned around the eyes, westerns tended to look at the face as a whole.

Source: BBC News - Facial expressions 'not global'