The Crying-Laughing Emoji Millennials Use Isn't Cool Anymore, According to Gen Z

Sieeka Khan, Tech Times 18 February 2021, 01:02 pm

Social media users, especially millennials, love to use emojis as a way to express how they feel. One of the most popular emojis is the crying-laughing emoji that can end almost any sentence perfectly.

However, that emoji does not have the same impact as it has before, and Gen Z is not impressed with it.

Popular emoji no longer cool

In the past few weeks, two generations have been clashing on Tiktok by posting videos and commenting on the topic of millennial culture that is now deemed uncool and old by Gen Z.

The said millennial culture includes skinny jeans, side parts, and the popular crying-laughing emoji that millennials love to use in almost every post.

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TikTok users are commenting that they find the emoji "off," and one TikTok user posted a video saying that she is cutting back on using it after learning that Gen Z doesn't use it. A teen even commented that as a 15-year old, people in their age range wouldn't use the said emoji.

For many Gen Z people, the skull emoji has become a popular replacement for the crying-laughing emoji. It is the visual version of saying "I'm dead" or "I'm dying," which Gen Z teens find funny. Other alternatives are the loudly crying face or writing "lol" or "lmao" after a sentence.

Most teens call the crying-laughing emoji "bland," and some said that not too many people his age use the emoji.

Some even prefer the real crying emoji because it shows a more extreme emotion, and it is more dramatic than the crying-laughing emoji. There are those who can't even find the crying-laughing emoji on their keyboard.

A similar emoji called the "rolling on the floor laughing" is no longer in vogue. Most teens said that they don't like that emoji and don't see its sense.

The crying-laughing emoji's official name is "face with tears of joy," and it is currently the most-used emoji on Emojitracker, a website that features real-time emoji use on social media platforms like Twitter.

The emoji also topped Emojipedia's list of the most-used emojis on Twitter last year, while the "loudly crying face" took the second spot. It is also on the list for years. In 2017, Apple stated that the crying-laughing emoji was the most popular emoji in the United States.

Internet linguist and author Gretchen McCulloch said that tears of joy were a victim of its own success because if someone indicates digital laughter for years, in the same way, it starts to feel insincere. She said that the purpose gets worn out because it is used too often, which is why Gen Z teens are looking for fresh ways to signal their emotions.

Gen Z teens, born after 1966, grew up at a time when the internet was already at the peak of its usage, and everything is just a click away.

Meanwhile, millennials grew up before constant internet immersion, and the emojis were done through AOL Instant Messenger and not through texting or social networks, according to Pew Research Center.