Abstract
This study investigates the socio-psycholinguistic
impacts of emoji usage on interpersonal communication among Nigerian
undergraduates in Ikenne Remo Local Government, Ogun State, on WhatsApp. The
research integrates a mixed-method design and a quantitative survey data from
55 students with qualitative thematic analysis anchored in Vygotsky's
Socio-Cultural Theory of Cognitive Development and Social Information
Processing Theory. The findings in this paper reveal that emojis function as
digital paralanguage and compensate for absent non-verbal cues by enhancing
clarity and conveying emotional nuances efficiently. The results indicate that
65.4% of respondents associate emojis with laughter, while 52.7% report that
they facilitate emotional expression, thereby underscoring their role in
affective communication and emotional contagion. Furthermore, 58.2% agree that
emojis foster shared understanding and in-group identity. This demonstrates
their function as cultural tools for social bonding. However, only 41.8%
perceive emojis as affective in reducing social anxiety. This suggests that
their role is more expressive than therapeutic. The study concludes that emojis
are multifunctional socio-psycholinguistic tools essential to interpersonal
dynamics within Nigerian digital youth culture, and recommends their informed
integration into digital communicative practices.
Keywords: Emoji,
Socio-Psycholinguistics, Interpersonal Communication, Nigerian Undergraduates,
WhatsApp Digital Communications.
DOI: 10.36349/alqajolls.2026.v01i02.003
author/Tolulope Grace Ojo & Dr. Ngozi Wellington
journal/AL-QALAM JLLS 1(2) | June 2026
