Is That a Genuine Smile? Emoji-Based Sarcasm Interpretation Across the Lifespan

Emoji appear to be an important cue to judge whether a statement is sarcastic in computer-mediated communication. In this study, we investigated whether the smiling emoji, an indicator of sarcastic intention in the Chinese culture, exerts an influence on sarcasm interpretation across the lifespan. Statements accompanied with or without a smiling emoji were compared in unambiguous (Experiment 1) and ambiguous (Experiment 2) contexts. The results of Experiment 1 illustrated that for teenagers and the 20-year-olds the smiling emoji enhanced the perceived sarcasm of sarcastic statements significantly. However, there was no difference in interpreting sarcastic statements with or without a smiling emoji in other age groups. Experiment 2 replicated the results of Experiment 1. We found both teenagers and the 20-year-olds were more likely to arrive at a sarcastic interpretation of the ambiguous statement followed by a smiling emoji, which were less frequent in participants aged in their 30s, 40s, 50s and individuals over 60 years old. This might be because people of varying ages differ in decoding the emotions of the emoji. Age-related differences in the use of sarcasm and participants' experiences with using emoji might be possible factors that were closely related to the interpretation of emoji-based sarcasm.