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TikToker reveals popular emoji used by Gen Z and their hidden meanings

By Winnie Mabel February 5th, 2023 2 min read

Emojis are used to convey feelings, actions, and thoughts a user finds hard to express using words. These can be laughter emoji sent in their tens, but the person is in a board meeting and cannot burst out laughing, or one cannot explain how a compliment made them feel, so they would send a melting face emoji instead.

Also read: Prayer or high five? Users get confused by meaning of this emoji

But now…Generation Z is taking these beloved and much-appreciated emoji and assigning them new meanings. A Gen Z TikToker by the moniker @applyboard explained the emoji popularly being used by Generation Z and their hidden meanings.

  1. The two hands with index fingers touching- Gen Z says this emoji is used to express shy feelings in instances such as, “I think you are really cute.”
  2. The sad, teary eyes emoji- Also used to express shyness.
  3. The hand holding a pen- Gen Z says this emoji is used to tell another person that you are listening and taking notes or that you want to or are going to take the advice. Apparently, this emoji can be used alone but is often used multiple times in one sentence between words.
  4. The fishing rod with a fish hooked to it- Gen Z uses this emoji to fish for compliments or validation. For example, according to @applyboard, the caption could be self-deprecating when someone posts a photo on social media where they are trying to look good. This emoji is instead used as the caption for the photos.
  5. The progress and downward graph charts emoji- “It just is increase or decrease. For example my friend shared her study notes with me and my respect for her went (progress chart emoji),” said @applyboard.
  6. The sparkle emoji- Gen Z use this emoji around words to emphasize them ironically and sarcastically.

Also read: Facebook shares most used Emoji

Additionally, she went on to reveal the emoji that users should avoid using in their conversations…

  1. The crying laughter emoji- She instead said Gen Z is using the laughing skull emoji.
  2. The seriously crying emoji- She also gave the alternative that Gen Z was using, which was the sad, teary-eyed emoji.
  3. The red heart emoji- The alternative emoji to use was revealed to be the fingers holding out a heart-shaped sign.
  4. The laughing emoji with a sweat/teardrop on its head- Gen Z discarded this emoji for the face melting into a puddle.
  5. The love heart eyes emoji- A favorite has been replaced with the cute alien face or the shy face with balancing tears emoji.

Are you feeling enlightened or old after reading this? Do let us know in the comments.

Also read: Twitter honours Serena Williams with a GOAT emoji for her final tournament