Not to critique on the article, but as a general suggestion, it would be great if people don't use emojis as a scale. Unless it shows a specific character like number emojis, they are sometimes read differently by people from different language backgrounds. So what the author might be trying to say might lead to misunderstandings.
It's very plausible that emojis are perceived differently too, although I'm not aware of any studies on it at the moment.
Naturally it's quite hard to talk about, because people don't necessarily have the words to describe the differences between what they experience, or are even aware of a difference in the first place.
It is influenced by the language and culture. For example mask on the face emoji is usually read so. But in some asian cultures it has a religious meaning.
These emojis are used while communicating in native language or even in transliteration via english.
