Using Emoji as a Tool to Support Child Wellbeing from a Strengths-Based Approach

This research paper recognizes the growing need for research on children to be supplemented by research with children and examines strategies to help children report on their own well-being. The researchers worked with children between ages three and five to introduce them to emojis, listen to their stories about particular emojis, and facilitate open-ended discussion about aspects of children’s lives that they shared based on particular emojis. A directed content analysis was used to code qualitative interviews into data, and researchers found merit in using emojis to capture children’s thoughts and feelings. As technology and media become more prominent in early childhood, these visual measurement methods may be effective for use in future research with children.