Here's What Happens When A Couple Texts Using Only Emojis For A Month

"The winking bunny goes a long way, let me tell you."

To emoji or not to emoji? New York couple Alex Goldmark and Liza Stark recently chose the former — wanting to see what would happen if they used only emojis in their texts for 30 days.

Twitter: @alexgoldmark

Twitter: @liza_stark

The pair prepped for the experiment by downloading several apps including WeChat, a Chinese-made messaging service with decidedly vital emojis, like a love-struck headless robot and a Jazzercising frog:

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"I am not a visual thinker… but my girlfriend [is]," Alex said in an interview on the WNYC radio show New Tech City, where he's a producer. "So we signed up to be the New Tech City guinea pigs to see if this could help our relationship just a little bit."

To start, they each assigned themselves an emoji: the hat-clad guy for Alex, the brunette girl for Liza. But even then, some things got lost in translation — like this conversation:

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In it, Liza is telling Alex not to meet her for drinks that night, because her friend just had a death in the family. But Alex said he interpreted it as, "Oh, you missed me!"

What did they learn after 30 days of emojis-only? "I found myself willing to send a lot more — what you might call — cheesy, affectionate messages," said Alex. "It's easier to just tap a button... than it might be for me to actually type it out."

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The experiment also forced the pair to work harder at understanding each other, which they said ultimately brought them closer together as a couple. Even after the month was up, Alex and Liza said they found themselves reverting back to emojis instead of texts — because they missed using them, and because they can convey more.

Another thing they learned, says Alex: "The winking bunny goes a long way."

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For more, listen to their full interview on WNYC's New Tech City.