A recent campaign from Surrey Police has been highlighting some of the alternative meanings of certain emojis.
The police force invited social media users to guess the hidden meanings of the emojis before revealing the answer through their emoji code.
The campaign aimed to help parents, carers and adults working with children to recognise when young people may be using emojis to secretly talk about drugs or sexual behaviour.
The force said:
"Communicating with the young people in our lives is not always easy and we know it can sometimes feel like a challenge to keep up with the latest slang or trends. How teenagers talk to each other online is changing too, particularly with their use of emojis.
"Previously straight-forward emojis can now take on hidden meanings and by trying to stay informed with the language they are using, it can help us to spot when they are in trouble."
The force explained that they are sharing this information to enable adults to have informed conversations with young people if they do happen to see these emojis being used.
The campaign also warns that whilst use of these emojis on their own does not necessarily mean a young person is involved in drugs, emoji use can be considered alongside the wider context such as changes in the young person's behaviour.
Behaviour changes may include:
- changes in mood
- changes in performance at school
- becoming increasingly secretive
Emoji code
Surrey Police developed this useful infographic to demonstrate subvert meanings for some of the emojis.
The campaign also noted that the emoji code continues to evolve and meanings may differ between areas and contexts.