Gen Z No Longer Giving the 'Thumbs-Up' on These 10 Emojis—See the Controversial List
Twitter had a lot to say about this.
While emojis seem like a quick way to communicate your feelings, they can also be easily misunderstood–especially when in conversation with multiple generations .
The youngest of the cellphone-carrying bunch, Gen Z , chimed in on the 10 emojis that they would like to see removed and never used again—starting with the thumbs-up emoji.
According to research done by Perspectus Global via Yahoo! , which consisted of interviewing 2,000 British people between the ages of 16 and 29, there are 10 emojis that, when used in texting , make you seem "old."
These include the thumbs-up emoji (👍), the red heart (❤️), the okay sign (👌), the check mark (✔️), the poo emoji (💩), the intense crying face (😭), the monkey covering its eyes (🙈), clapping hands (👏), the kiss or lips mark (💋), and the face with a grimace (😬).
The 2021 study recently resurfaced thanks to an article from Daily Mail titled, "Why NOBODY should be using the 'thumbs up' emoji in 2022."
The article also referenced a Reddit thread in which someone asked, "Am I not adult enough to be comfortable with the 'thumbs up' emoji reaction?"
The responses varied based on the person's age.
One person said , "Why do you feel like it's unsettling?...that's literally how I respond to 90% of messages... I'm almost 40 though, so I wonder if it's a generational thing..."
Another top comment also supported the idea that it was related to a generational divide, "For younger people (I'm 24 for reference) the thumbs up emoji is used to be really passive aggressive [sic]. It's super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up."
They concluded: "So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same...Everyone my age in the office doesn't do it, but the gen X people always do it."
After Daily Mail published their article, Twitter wasn't having it, as one person jokingly replied to the report, "This morning , I sent my friend a text to say I'd be late coming over. She replied with a thumbs up emoji. I've been shaking since she sent it, and I've had to go to my safe space to recover."
Another person made a valid point about using the thumbs-up emoji in the workplace, explaining, "There's a time & place for low effort replies. If I post something on the team Slack, I often don't want a text reply just to let me know they agree — written responses are for discussion. They could use a 'like' button, but there isn't one. 👍 just says, 'I agree.'"
Many people took the article as a sign to continue using the thumbs-up emoji, with one Twitter user writing, "Cool, I'll be sure to use it more often 👍."
Who knew emojis could be this divisive?!
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