By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
What's the most popular emoji in your state?
1415a8014afcf679cede9391566ce1f45d0c3a8b9679739ec456796f2a250e0d
Emojis have changed the way we view language. They take away some context, but allow us to express moods. They also define our culture. - photo by Herb Scribner
Emojis have changed the way American families speak to each other. Words have been replaced by smiley faces and digital pictures that describe almost any situation.

In fact, emojis have affected our language so much that theyve made us less emotional, which New Republics Alice Robb wrote about in July. Though emoticons and emojis offer people a chance to show their moods, they dont always describe the full extent of ones feelings and leave out some important context, Robb wrote.

You couldn't communicate only with emoticons, linguist John McWhorter told New Republic in an email. You have to know what you're talking about, what happened, when, and so on. Emoticons don't do that.

Still, other experts believe emojis enrich Americas language allowing people to not only describe situations, but include a picture that underlines ones mood.

It's a recurrence of a very old impulse, linguist Ben Zimmer told New Republic. I don't see it as a threat to written language, but as an enrichment. The punctuation that we use to express emotion is rather limited. Weve got the question mark and the exclamation point, which dont get you very far if you want to express things like sarcasm or irony in written form.

Emojis also have the power to express the culture of an entire state. In fact, Swiftkey, a company that creates keyboard apps, analyzed data from across America to find which emojis are most popular in every state.

Some states, it turns out, embrace family and faith values in their most popular emojis, according to the United States of Emoji report.

Heres a look at five states that use faith- or family-oriented emojis most often.

Wisconsin

Wisconsins most popular emoji is the church, according to the report. Other popular emojis include the smiley face with a halo and bread, both of which may refer to church services and religion.

Mississippi

One of Mississippi's popular emojis is the prayer hands symbol. Though this emojis true meaning has been debated in recent years, pop culture tends to use it for religious or spiritual connotations.

Oregon

Oregon hits on both faith and family with its popular emojis. The most popular emoji is the Jewish star of David, even though Jewish believers make up 1 percent of the states population. The baby image is also a popular emoji in the state.

South Dakota

South Dakota may be the most family-friendly state of them all. The most popular emoji is the mustached dad, with the son, home, soccer ball and dog also ranking high in the state.

For a better look at which emojis families are using, we created this slideshow of the most popular emojis in the 15 best cities to start a family, combining the Swiftkey report and a 2014 WalletHub report.

For more on which emoji your state uses the most, view the map below and read the full report from Swiftkey.
Sign up for our E-Newsletters
How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
ce406c66b9871a104ac24256a687e4821d75680dcfc89d9e5398939543f7f88f
A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
Latest Obituaries