I don't like it either. I got good news for you and bad news. The good news is that emoji usage seems higher in open source/side-projects than in professional environments. The bad news is that yes, some people, even professionally, do use emojis instead of words. It is horrible, but I'm afraid it's only gonna get more popular as the population of young people become... Not young and joins the professional workforce.
Are you claiming that "young" people can't join the professional workforce? Are they joining some other, "unfessional" workforce? Is there an age limit at which you're Old(tm) and then are able to be a true professional?
