Gen-Z calling for ban of ten emojis including 'hostile' thumbs up
Published
| Last updated
Featured Image Credit: UNILAD/wowomnom
Gen Z is calling for people to stop using the thumbs up emoji, claiming it comes across as ‘rude’ and ‘hostile’... and that's not the only emoji they've got an issue with. Anyone else now wondering how many people they’ve accidentally offended over the years?
Yep - according to the younger generation, the little thumbs up sign no longer translates to ‘OK’ or ‘job well done’, but is instead deemed to be ‘passive aggressive’.
A Reddit user recently made the observation in a post titled: 'Am I not adult enough to be comfortable with the ‘thumbs up’ reaction emoji?'
In the post, they explained that they had started work in an ‘adult’ job where staff often communicated through Microsoft Teams.
The post continued: "Currently, there's only a few emojis you can use to react to a message (unless of course, you respond, and can use any emoji). Most people at work use the 'thumbs up' reaction all the time.
“I don't use it much. I either 'heart' reactions or reply even if it's a short 'Great!' or 'Thanks!'
"Anyway, I think it's normal for people to 'thumbs up' messages, but I still feel like it's such an unsettling response. Does anyone else feel this way?”
And it seems that plenty of other people do indeed feel that way - replying to the post someone wrote: “For younger people, the thumbs-up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive. It’s super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up. So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same.”
Someone else commented: “It probably feels unsettling because it's impersonal, and based just off this post, you seem like the kind of person who prefers more genuine interactions with others.”
Loading…
And when news of the Gen Z-thumb-emoji beef spread to Twitter, other people also agreed.
One Twitter user said: “Look I don’t make the rules but the thumbs up emoji is passive aggressive. Idk why, it’s bad vibes.”
And it’s not just the thumbs up emoji younger people wanted to get rid of - a survey of 2,000 people by Perspectus Global showed there were 10 emojis those aged 16 to 29 believed made you 'officially old' if you used.
The list in full:
- Thumbs up
- Red heart
- “OK” hand gesture
- Checkmark
- Poo
- Crying face
- Monkey covering eyes
- Clapping hands
- Lipstick kiss mark
- Grimacing face
Well, I think it's time I had a long hard think about my emoji use, to be honest.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
