New Emojis Are Coming, and They Pretty Much Sum Up How We’re All Feeling Right Now

September 23, 2020 2 min read

Feeling confused, exasperated, heartbroken, or passionate? There’s an emoji for that. 

Unicode Consortium, the decider of all things emoji, just announced the release of more than 200 new characters. While the pictograms probably won’t be ready until 2021, they succinctly express what most of us are feeling today in this topsy turvy world. You won’t find any rainbows and winky smiley faces on the list. More like heads in the clouds and whoa googly eyes. That said, there are a few forward-thinking bright spots. Here is a sneak peek at what’s coming to your smartphone soon. 

Related: The Most Popular Dating App Emoji Is Not What You’d Think

1. Face with spiral eyes

This is the look of someone who just spent 20 minutes looking at their newsfeed. In the midst of a deadly pandemic, raging wildfires, polarized politics, and Tiger King, it can feel like the world as we once knew it is spiraling out of control. Unicode describes this face with spiral eyes as a sign of “trouble, whoa, dizzy.” Sounds about right. 

2.  Face in the clouds

For those with that confused, head-in-the-clouds feeling, this emoji’s for you. The perfect emoji for that quarantined, socially-distanced kind of day. 

3. Face exhaling

We’re not sure if this emoji is vaping, sneezing, coughing, or exhaling, but it better put a mask on. 

Related: The 7 Things You Need to Know to Text With Good Etiquette

4. Heart on fire

This emoji could symbolize deep burning passion or deep burning indigestion. The choice is yours. 

5. Mending heart

Sadly, many hearts have been broken this year. This emoji indicates the process of healing. 

6. Woman, man, person with beard (multiple skin tones)

You will now be able to find gender-neutral bearded emojis, which are differentiated from gender-specific ones by things like hair length, face size, or eyebrows. 

7.  Couple with heart

For all the lovers in the house, the Couple-with-Heart emojis come in four different gender variations: gender-neutral, woman-woman, man-man, and woman-man–and come in 5 different skin tone options. Bonus: There’s also a Couple-with-Kiss option.