Millennials used it to mean something was “on fire,” as in cool or awesome. This emoji has always been more popular for describing metaphorical fires versus actual ones. The fire emoji □ means something is lit, super stylish, or even hot (as in attractive) or sexy. Is something burning? Well, not literally. While this one has been commonly used to indicate a millennial high five, Gen Z uses it as a way of saying “thank you” or of indicating that they’re really hoping for something.Įxample: “Tell me you have an extra ticket to the Brandi Carlile show. □” 7. Are they praying? Are they high-fiving? The answer may depend on your generation. The folded hands emoji □ has confused people for a long time. Either way, it’s more of an insult than a positive sign.Įxample: “Thanks for telling Ava about her surprise party. If you get a thumbs up emoji □ in the 2020s, it’s likely you’re receiving a sarcastic or passive-aggressive “good job” on something you botched or even a “sure, whatever” in response to something you’ve said. While millennials once used this one to say “good job” or even “I’ve got it,” Gen Z prefers to use it ironically. Is the thumbs up emoji □ always a good thing? Not necessarily. For them, this emoji means “I’m stressed, but I’m fine.”Įxample: “Guess who has 8 meetings on their calendar today? □” 5. While millennials used to use it for actually sweaty situations, like working out or talking to a crush, Gen Z uses it more sarcastically. It’s called the grinning face with sweat emoji □, and it’s been a part of Unicode since 2010. You know the meme that shows the cartoon dog sitting in a burning room saying, “This is fine”? This is the emoji version of that. For Gen Z, this emoji is more exclusively used to indicate positive feelings, like when something is so funny, cute, or sweet that it’s totally overwhelming.Įxample: “Look at my puppy wearing his new Halloween costume. Once upon a time, millennials used this emoji to indicate strong emotions that might actually make you cry, like extreme sadness, frustration, or relief. When Gen Z uses the loudly crying face emoji □, there probably aren’t actual tears involved. You can also use the clown face emoji □ to describe your own acts of foolishness.Įxample: “I really just gave my toddler spaghetti while he was wearing a white shirt □” 3. On social media, for example, someone might quote a hot take they disagree with and respond with a string of clown face emojis □. Thanks to their creative usage, the clown face emoji □ is now a universal symbol for someone who is acting or saying something incredibly foolish. Millennials may think the clown face emoji □ is just a clown, but Gen Z knows better. Gen Z is more likely to respond to a joke with a line of skull emojis □ intended to mean “I’m dying with laughter” or “I’m dead from laughing.” If the skull emoji □ doesn’t fully capture how hilarious the joke or situation is, you can also throw in a headstone emoji □ for good measure.Įxample: “Did you watch last night’s Abbott Elementary? □□□” 2. A millennial might say: “Just finished working out. The skull emoji □was added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015, and millennials used it in a lighthearted way, too-usually to indicate playful exhaustion. Gen Z uses them as a symbol for laughter. If you thought skulls were reserved for Halloween, think again. Here’s a guide to the new ways Gen Z is using emojis and how to translate their different meanings. But don’t worry because it’s not too late to update your knowledge. Remember the good old days when a smiley face emoji meant you were feeling happy? Yes, even that is different now. Gen Z came along and used their creativity and unique sense of style to reshape the way people use and understand different emojis. What might surprise you is finding out that the meanings of many of even the most popular emojis have completely changed. Do you speak emoji? If you’re a millennial, you might think you do, since you came of age during the dawn of emojis.
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