What Gen Z Really Means When They Use Emojis

Using emojis has become a time-honored tradition in texting — but Gen Z doesn’t use them in the same way older generations do.

Gen Z refers to those born between 1997 and 2012. This cohort doesn’t take certain emojis literally, as they have assigned their own meanings behind them.

Two of the most commonly used emojis among Gen Zers are the face with tears streaming down (😭) and the skull (💀). However, these emojis don’t necessarily convey sadness or anger to Zoomers. Instead, they often signify laughter or that something is funny.

@applyboard more emojis with more new meanings that you should probably know… can we get some 👍 in the comments? #genz #emojis #englishslang #millennial #millenialvsgenz ♬ original sound – ApplyBoard

A 2024 study on emoji interpretation by researchers at Indiana University found that Gen Z respondents were more likely than older generations to interpret messages as sarcastic or ironic.

For example, Gen Z didn’t see the fire emoji (🔥) as expressing anger.

“Younger users rated the fire emoji as friendly, meaning that it signifies something ‘hot’ or ‘great,'” the study states. “This suggests a shift in the meaning of the fire emoji from potentially representing anger to signaling excitement (i.e., from its literal to a metaphorical meaning).”

The study also looked at the thumbs up emoji (👍) and found it was “associated with sarcastic meanings by Gen Z and Millennials, while Baby Boomers saw it as genuinely positive and playful.”

@nogood.io Replying to @NoGood Gen Z emoji translations part 2!! 💅🏼🫦 #emoji #emojis #genz #generationz #genzhumor #greenscreen ♬ Cupid – Twin Ver. (FIFTY FIFTY) (Sped Up Version) – FIFTY FIFTY

A post titled “Are emoji a Millennial+ vibe?” on the Gen Z subreddit page further dove into this emoji divide.

Redditors agreed that some emoji usages are telltale signs that a person is not part of Gen Z — or at least not up to date on texting lingo.

“Responding to a message with ‘Okay 👍’ will be seen as an old person thing, same as ‘Hello 😀,'” one person commented.

A self-described “older” Gen Z member explained, “For example 😂 this one used unironically says millennial to me.”

“Like, I use 💀 to indicate disbelief or laughter at something. So, when old people use emojis, we can just kinda tell,” someone posted on the platform. “They use emojis we tend not to, or use them in ways we don’t.”

One thing is clear: Emoji meanings are ever-changing, and can be interpreted differently by those who receive them.