This texting habit means you have higher emotional intelligence, according to science

If you love using emojis, you’ll love this news.

Researchers from Indiana University say that those who use a lot of emojis tend to have higher emotional intelligence, which is the ability to understand, perceive and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others.

Less use of emojis with friends and romantic partners is associated with a personality style known as avoidant attachment, which often involves prioritizing self-reliance and independence over emotional closeness and intimacy.

“This is the first study to examine emoji use simultaneously with key individual characteristics related to people’s communication skills and interpersonal relationships,” the study authors wrote Wednesday in the journal Plos One.

Three hundred and twenty adults, mostly in their mid-30s, took an online survey that asked about their attachment styles, emotional intelligence and emoji use.

There are three main types of attachment styles – anxious, avoidant and secure. People with anxious relationships often feel insecure in their relationships and fear rejection or abandonment. Safe attachment is about creating healthy relationships with trust, love, affection and respect.

Over 10 billion emojis are sent every day worldwide, and the study authors determined that women use them with friends and family more often than men.

People with higher emotional intelligence and secure attachment also tend to use emoji more often, new research has found.

Conversely, women high in avoidant attachment send and receive emojis less frequently with friends and romantic partners, while men high in avoidant attachment send fewer emojis to romantic partners.

The researchers acknowledged several limitations to their study, including that participants were predominantly white, educated, married, and heterosexual English-speaking residents of the US.

The study authors hope that future research will include a larger, more diverse population and explore the type of emojis being exchanged, the content of the accompanying message, and the perception of these exchanges across genders and relationship types.

“The way we interact during virtual communications may reveal something more about ourselves,” the researchers said. “It’s not just a smiley face or a heart emoji: it’s a way to convey meaning and communicate more effectively, and how you use it tells us something about you.”