10 emojis that make you look 'old' and 'out of touch' according to Gen Z
12 October 2022, 17:26 | Updated: 13 October 2022, 08:45
The younger generation think the thumbs up emoji is rude and passive aggressive, as it’s revealed 10 emojis are making you look ‘old’ and ‘out of touch’.
The results are according to 2,000 young people aged between 16 and 29.
Emojis are more likely to be used by those over 35 and if they’re used in the workplace become even more ‘alienating’.
On Reddit, users are saying that the thumbs up emoji can be confusing as a response to a question and could mean a number of different things from a simple ‘yes’ to just a confirmation that the person received the message.
Some people even went as far to say a thumbs up looks like a ‘lazy’ response to typing something out.
One person told the MailOnline: “My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send info to each other on and most of the people on there just replied with a thumbs up.
“I don't know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me.” According to business consultant Sue Ellson, it could be time to take the younger generations lead on what they think is working.
She told Femail: “It potentially has very different meanings depending on the cultural background of the recipient – approval, happiness, encouragement, number one or go to the surface when diving,” she said.
She said the emojis should be kept to social media and that it’s vital to ‘understand the relationship dynamics at a workplace’ before deciding to send to use emojis.
This includes making sure staff would be comfortable sending and receiving emojis – and ‘checking in’ with people to make sure nobody is offended.
The other top 10 most offensive emojis include: thumbs up emoji, red love heart, ok hand, green tick, smiling poo, loud crying face, monkey covering eyes, clapping hands, lipstick kiss mark and the grimacing face.
