‘Hi there! Happy face. Great to see you again. Wink. Oh, you can’t meet me later? Frown.’ Surely only a planet full of absolute cretins would communicate this way with one another?

Carnegie Mellon University alumni trace the origin of the smiley to a group of computer scientists discussing a physics puzzle in 1982. The use of the smiley face may be frowned upon in professional ...

Sure, we’ve all used a smiley face every now and then but what did you really mean when you used it? In the name of important technological advancement, we find out what your emoticon really ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...