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Gen Z feel 'attacked' by thumbs-up emoji (?)


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Posted

41245782-11301843-Other_emojis_used_by_old_people_include_the_red_love_heart_the_O-a-18_1665539138386.jpg

 

  • Gen Z sees the thumbs up emoji as rude or passive aggressive, they say
  • The emoji is commonly used in casual and professional conversation
  • People aged 35 and over are more likely to use the symbol but it is alienating

 

According to a recent poll of 2,000 young people aged 16-29, emojis used by 'old people' include the thumbs up, the red love heart, the OK hand and the grimacing face.

 

A 24-year-old on Reddit summed up the Gen Z argument, saying it is best 'never used in any situation' as it is 'hurtful'. 'No one my age in the office does it, but the Gen X people always do it. Took me a bit to adjust and get [it] out of my head that it means they're mad at me,' he added.

 

Others agreed it is bad form, especially at work where it can make the team appear unfriendly and unaccommodating. 

Business consultant Sue Ellson says it is important to understand the dynamic of your workplace before sending emojis - especially the thumbs up.

 

'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,' one woman said.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/real-life/article-11301843/The-worst-emojis-use-2022-Passive-aggressive-thumbs-used-old-people.html

 

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Gen-Z'ers of ATRL - do you get offended by emojis? ?

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Posted

I use it all the time I-

Posted

Yes, it's like if you sent someone something you thought was funny and they replied "lol." It used to come off as genuine but now comes across passive aggressive somehow, and I can't explain why. 

Posted

It's not about being offended, it's the intention. Everyone knows that if you get a ? from someone as a response it's because it's either sarcastic or arrogant. 

Posted
Quote

emojis used by 'old people' include the thumbs up, the red love heart, the OK hand and the grimacing face.

Not these being some of my most used emojis :jonny2:

Posted

Amazing. Now i'll spam these anywhere.

Posted

?

Posted

??

Posted

I mean it's because it's perceived as ironic, cause a lot of gen Z memes are ironic. But this just seems like another attempt at setting gen Z against millennials :deadbanana2:The real enemy will ALWAYS be the boomers

Posted

The thumbs up is a very passive aggressive emoji tbh lmao but no one feels ATTACKED lol

Posted

what's wrong with a simple red heart?

I hate some of the other ones too tho

Posted

It can be seen like passive aggressive

but they use lots of stuff like that too

 

anyways im part Genz, but I use the crying emoji lol

Posted

I find it passive aggressive but I know people who use them all the time without INTENDING to come across as rude, condescending etc

 

I use ellipses (…) all the time and people find them rude. :rip:

Posted
1 minute ago, Dragonfly said:

what's wrong with a simple red heart?

I hate some of the other ones too tho

My guess is that it just comes across as dismissive to only reply with one emoji and nothing else, the "lol." comparison in this thread seems very accurate and also something older generations wouldn't get

Posted

thumbs up IS annoying. i have managers who constantly send thumbs up. it comes across as rude and passive aggressive. 

Posted

Oh for ****'s sake. Everything is wrong nowadays. I don't know what I'm gonna say now that's gonna be cancellable in the future. But hey... You do you!!! ??????

Posted

It is true that the thumbs up emoji has a passive aggressive vibe

Posted

??

??

??

Posted

I don't have a problem using the thumbs up emoji but it's a big part of my work culture and I'm just used to it. We use Teams a lot and tbh if anything we're encouraged to use it, e.g. when a manager circulates a message they'll ask for everyone to give a 'thumbs up' just to show they've understood the message. :michael: 

 

I could never get offended by an emoji in any circumstance though or even look into it deeply enough to try to find meaning in it. :rip:

Posted
18 minutes ago, Peroxide said:

I find it passive aggressive but I know people who use them all the time without INTENDING to come across as rude, condescending etc

 

I use ellipses (…) all the time and people find them rude. :rip:

My aunt uses a lot of ellipses and always think she’s irritated with me because of it ?

Posted

The thumbs up is the emoji equivalent of 'ok'. :michael:

 

Bit much too call it hurtful, but when someone ok's me it's almost always a boomer and while they don't mean it that way, it feels cold, lol

Posted

This is so weird too me. Thank god I am not addicted to technology ppl are getting upset for the dumbest ****.

Posted
13 minutes ago, StormFury said:

One of my professors does this for every reply she writes and it drives me insane

She sounds iconic :giraffe:

Posted

lol, this is funny as **** to me because I'm a site manager at my job and there have been many times when my employees will text me that they're either running a little late or won't make it into work and I'll just reply back with the thumbs up emoji.

 

Had one employee told me she wasn't feeling well because of cramps and she was on her period and was calling out. Hit her back with a thumbs up emoji, not thinking much of it. Now I can totally see how passive-aggressive and nonchalant that emoji can be. Hell, sometimes I'll reply back to my own mother with a thumbs up. :jonny5:

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