Meet the Irish emoji etiquette expert who says you should avoid sending a “passive aggressive” thumbs up to a Gen Z and a “slight smile” might be taken the wrong way.
Dubliner Keith Broni, 32, the editor in chief of emojipedia, explains the hidden meaning of emojis that can get lost in translation between generations.
Many have developed sexual innuendos such as the eggplant, peach and water droplets, and devil smiling face which shouldn’t be used out of context.
The crying with laughter emoji is losing popularity with Gen Z - people born in the late 90s to 2010 - and it’s not the ‘norm’ to replace words with emojis, according to Keith.
He says emojis are fast becoming more popular than using punctuation marks.
Keith added: “In more serious and formal setting emojis should usually be avoided as it may come across as not appreciating the gravity of a situation.”
Gen Zs are calling for people to ditch the passive aggressive ‘thumb up’ emoji and are ditching the crying with laughter face, according to emojipaedia.
Keith said: “As with language, we should address who we are speaking to before sending them an emoji.
“People from younger generations are trying to avoid the thumbs up emoji as they see it as passive aggressive and a low effort response.
“A Gen Z demographic might also view the ‘slight smile’ face as highly performative and slightly passive aggressive,” added the linguist.
Rather than a slight smile, texters should opt for an overly expressive emoji to add emotional clarity, he suggested.
Keith said: “Emojis are generally used in a positive emotional context and between peers for a sense of rapport.”
According to the digital linguist, you should err on the side of caution when communicating with bosses and mirror their communicative style- for example if they use emojis to communicate you can reciprocate the smileys.
Keith said: “Emojis are symbols of emotional intent and are used more often in positive situations.
“They’re often playful and are clearly expressive.
“They add to words and punctuation as part of a great stew of expression.”
Keith explained it is also good etiquette to check the receiver has updated their phone and can see the emoji can be seen by them.
It’s also good practice to check if the emoji appears different on the receivers- there can be small nuances in the emoji designs which could lead to confusion.
He said: “Before 2018, people with Samsung devices ‘rolling eye’ emoji had a smirk and looked slightly suggesting- this was completely different to the iPhone equivalent.
The chair emoji was confusingly co-opted as a symbol of laughter on TikTok earlier this year as an ‘in joke’.
He said: “It became a viral trend to use the chair as a laughter emoji. There was no immediate substance as there is no relation between a chair and laughing.”
To avoid making communicative faux-pas, texters can consult emojipedia.org before adding emojis to a message.
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