Check Your Emojis!

When writing captions, it can be tempting to default to colourful emojis to zhuzh up the message.
While fluffing up the copy in this way may seem like you’re creating scroll-stopping content, adding too many emojis can actually be a huge detriment to users who rely on screen readers to access social media posts and other online content.
As the Twitter Accessibility Team recommends:

➡️ Use emojis in moderation
Nobody likes to be inundated with constant speed bumps in the middle of a sentence. If you’re going to use emojis, keep them at the beginning or end of your sentence, paragraph, or the entire caption. Or, use them in lieu of certain punctuation marks (like bullet points!).

➡️ Don’t repeat the same emoji over and over
Imagine a user hoping to engage with your brand via assistive technology. Instead, they’re forced to listen to “mind-blown emoji” twenty times before actually hearing your caption or message. They likely won’t stick around to hear the rest of it.

➡️ Choose emojis that have good colour contrast for default and dark modes
For anyone that might be using dark mode on their computer or phone, certain emojis may not read as well. If you’re using emojis to replace words or convey additional meaning, some of the intended message could be lost.

➡️ Avoid using emojis (or a string of emojis) to imply secondary or underlying meanings
Consider when you’re using an emoji that represents a metaphorical concept or slang (i.e. a skull emoji to represent laughing) that it might not translate when using assistive technology.