Two smiley faces - part two
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 July 2021
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The emoji, invented in Japan in the 1990s, and now standardised on every device and platform we have, has become a new type of global communication. Whether you love them or hate them, they stir up surprisingly strong feelings and the fight for representation on the emoji keyboard can get very heated. In episode two, we explore how sometimes, emoji are more than they seem. In fact, for some dating app users, criminal gangs and even human traffickers, emoji take on secret meanings. The BBC's Vivienne Nunis and Sarah Treanor are here to crack the code.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the BBC World Service. |
| 0:02.5 | Oh, my emoji. |
| 0:05.4 | I do probably use more of the skeptical emoji than most people. |
| 0:13.0 | There's a crystal ball and I always like to put the sparkles. |
| 0:17.0 | It's like putting very dust. |
| 0:19.0 | Ghost emoji with its tongue sticking out. |
| 0:21.0 | Thinking face or the eye roll. |
| 0:24.0 | If I want to emphasize my ethnicity, then I tend to use more round skin tone. |
| 0:31.0 | I don't have a favorite emoji. Oh I don't I really don't. |
| 0:36.3 | Elephants you know worms dumplings. Oh you the peach because I'm a hugger theer, the hug emoji is the top one, |
| 0:45.2 | but I'm a real face-pom girl. |
| 0:47.5 | Like, really? |
| 0:49.4 | Top 2. |
| 1:00.0 | Hello, you've joined us for our second adventure into the emoji universe. This episode really is an adventure. |
| 1:02.0 | I'm Sarah Trino and I'm Vivianna. This episode really is an adventure. |
| 1:02.6 | I'm Sarah Trino and I'm Vivian Noonis. |
| 1:09.6 | Saturday Bruntche at a gay bar in West Hollywood. Palm trees are swaying under a bright blue Los Angeles |
| 1:16.1 | sky and the crowd is steadily building. It's early afternoon and sugary cocktails are already flowing and the music has just been cranked up a notch. |
| 1:27.0 | We're here to learn about one-way emoji and more than they seem. |
| 1:37.0 | Sometimes they're a code. |
| 1:39.0 | And if you have to ask what the message means, well, you're clearly not part of the club people are great at like |
| 1:45.7 | especially in their small groups coming up with what this means for us this episode |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.