An emoji is a small digital image or icon used to express an idea, feeling, or concept through electronic communication. Emojis are commonly used in text messages and social media platforms as a way to convey emotions, objects, people, animals, and other symbols without using words. They were first introduced in the late 1990s by Shigetaka Kurita, a Japanese engineer working for NTT Docomo, and have since become an integral part of modern communication. Emojis are designed to be universally understood and can convey complex ideas with just a simple image.