Over two billion smartphone users send six billion emojis a day. And most Gen Yers now believe that these symbols improve our ability to communicate. But research shows that emojis may be more confusing than we think, as they can have different meanings to different people.

Attitudes to PINs and passwords are pretty lax; 25% of people use the same code for every card. Intelligent Environments is hoping to reinvent passwords, replacing numbers with a combination of four emojis. Can the fastest growing language come to dominate our PIN codes as they do our texts?

With just 7% of communication being attributed to spoken words, and the remainder down to body language and tone of voice, it’s easy to see why communicating online has been described as cold and impersonal. Emoticons, emoji and stickers are helping make digital communication a bit more human.

From romance novels to 16 and Pregnant, teens have long seen entertainment as a way to learn about sex, turning media channels like MTV into unwitting teachers. Now health organisations are recognising the role of fun. But can comics and TV dramas really be education tools?