STOP! Before You Hit Send Are You Sure You Want to Send THAT Emoji?

STOP! Before You Hit Send Are You Sure You Want to Send THAT Emoji?

So according to Gen Z, I am definitely an old lady and should be in a nursing home.

Not only have they recently attacked our hairstyles (the side part is so NOT cool now!) and “mum jeans” (let’s not talk about that), they are now having a go at those we use.

These little young upstarts are trying to tell me that the laughing emoji 😂  is so not cool anymore. Pffft!

😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

What Gen Z had to say

Gen Z, Walid Mohammed, 21, informed CNN Business it’s not cool because “old” people use it.

“I use everything but the laughing emoji. I stopped using it a while back because I saw older people using it, like my mum, my older siblings and just older people in general.”

Gen z-er, 17 year old Xavier Martin described the ‘crying laughing’ emoji as ‘bland’, remarking that ‘not too many people’ in his age group would choose to use it.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Stacy Thiru explained that she prefers the ‘real crying’ emoji  😭 as it shows a more extreme emotion and had a more dramatic feel to it.

A similar emoji, called “Rolling on the Floor Laughing” (🤣), is also no longer cool. When asked about that emoji over a video call, Thiru visibly grimaced. “I don’t like that one,” she said. “My mum doesn’t even use it.”

What should we use?

Gen Z-ers have reportedly now turned to the skull emoji 💀 as a means of showing their digital laughter. This is of course a visual way of saying ‘I’m dead’, as in dying of laughter.

Chucking in the ‘Loudly Crying Face’ emoji, or simply writing ‘lol’ or ‘lmao’, are also still acceptable.

The older generation tend to use them literally while younger people get more creative.

Gen Zers told CNN Business they like to assign their own meanings to emojis, which then spread through social media. For example, the emoji of a person wearing a cowboy hat (🤠) and the one of a person simply standing have both come to signify “awkwardness”.

Public reaction

The public response is not so supportive with many saying they can’t part ways with the laughing emoji.

“I’m definitely happy to never wear skinny jeans again but I’m not sure I can give up the crying laughing emoji, is that okay.”

“But it doesn’t make sense?,” wrote another.

“I am sooo old now!” said another.

So who the fuck are these Gen Z people you ask?

Gen Z are the young folk born from the 90’s onward that have never known a life without tech.

Other characteristics of Generation Z include:

• Less traditional family backgrounds, more single-parent, same-sex parent and blended families.
• More likely to have friends from various ethnic, religious and racial groups.
• More adverse to risks.
• Less confident in the current economic system.
• More inclined to become a small business owner.
• More religious.
• More likely to spend as much time online as offline.
• More likely to watch entertainment over a phone than a television.
• More likely to shop online than any other generation.
• In the workplace, Generation Z expect greater flexibility and the capacity to work remotely.

So, What Should We Do?

If they’re used correctly, emojis may be a great tool for conveying a person’s mood, tone, or feelings. In this manner, they are able to approximate the cues we offer and receive in person. 

Emails and texts are simple to misunderstand and misread when there is no tone of voice or facial cues to guide the reader’s eye. Using emojis to indicate the sender’s meaning when the words are unclear may surely help to avoid misunderstandings and confusion.

How do you feel about the death of the laughing emoji? Gotta admit I won’t be using it any less. Call me old. Whatevs.