Emojis aren’t just cute little digital stickers - they’re full-blown social signals. And in 2025, the emoji you send can reveal a lot about your age, culture, and even your political leaning.
We look at the latest research into when to use which emoji, depending on your generational, cultural, or social background.
Emoji use varies by age. A 2023 Statista survey found that people over 65 are the least likely to drop a smiley or a fire emoji in texts, about 15% say they never use them at all. Meanwhile, Gen Z? They practically speak in emoji. 🧠🔥😩
Here’s where it gets interesting: Gen Z has officially cancelled the 👍 thumbs-up emoji. What older people see as a polite "okay," Gen Z often read as passive-aggressive or even sarcastic. A Welt article reported that many younger users consider it a red flag for being “old.”
You’d think an emoji would be universal, but it turns out, not so much. A study in PLOS ONE, highlighted by Phys.org, found that people from different countries, genders, and age groups often interpret the same emoji very differently.
For example, a 😅 might signal awkward embarrassment in the UK, but mild amusement in China. Emoji meaning shifts depending on where you are and who you’re talking to, so when in doubt, clarify before you mystify. 🤔
A 2023 study analyzing nearly 19,000 Twitter (now X) users revealed that emoji use patterns can accurately predict demographic features like age and gender. Your go-to 😬 or 💅 might be saying more than you think.
A recent Times piece explored how certain online communities (including the so-called “manosphere”) have developed coded meanings for everyday emojis. That innocent-looking 🥩 or 🍞 might carry an entire hidden narrative—something viewers of the Netflix series Adolescence will recognize as part of the deeper digital subtext explored in youth culture.
Moral of the story: context matters a lot. 🔑
Emojis aren’t just decorative, they're loaded with cultural context, generational nuance, and even hidden meanings. So before you send that 💀 to your Gen Z coworker thinking it means "morbid," know they’ll probably read it as “I’m dying laughing.”
The golden rule? Know your audience, keep your emoji game fresh, and maybe, just maybe, retire the 👍
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