By Brittany Ferdinands
Emojis, as well as memes and other forms of short-form content, have become central to how we express ourselves and connect online. Yet as meanings shift across different contexts, so too does the potential for misunderstanding.
A senior colleague of mine recently encountered some commentary about the 鈥渟lightly smiling鈥 face emoji: 馃檪
They approached me, asking whether it represented joy, as they had assumed, or if it had a more ominous meaning.
As a chronically-online millennial, who unironically identifies as a gen Z, I bore the news that I, along with most younger internet users, only ever use it sarcastically.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 actually signify happiness 鈥 more so fake happiness, or dry humour,鈥 I explained.
I also told them how the thumbs up emoji is often interpreted as passive aggressive, and that the only time I鈥檇 use the laughing-crying (鈥渇ace with tears of joy鈥) emoji is under duress.
Despite seeming like a universal language 鈥 and sometimes they do function that way 鈥 emojis can be at once more vague, and more specific, than words. That鈥檚 because you can鈥檛 separate the meaning of a smiley from the person who sent it, nor from the person receiving it.
While emojis were originally developed in the late 1990s by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita to add emotional nuance to text-based messaging, their function has since evolved.
Today, emojis are not just emotional cues; they also operate as cultural symbols and markers of identity.
Research published last year highlights how these symbols can create subtle communication barriers across age groups. For instance, a study of Chinese-speaking WeChat users found younger and older people differed not only in how frequently they used emojis, but in how they interpreted and aesthetically preferred them.
One emoji that鈥檚 increasingly becoming a distinct marker of age is the previously mentioned laughing-crying emoji (馃槀). Despite being named Oxford Dictionary鈥檚 2015 word of the year, and frequently topping the most-used emoji charts, this smiley is on the decline among gen Z 鈥 who decided in 2020 that it wasn鈥檛 cool anymore.
Instead, they prefer the skull emoji (馃拃), which is shorthand for the gen Z catch phrase 鈥淚鈥檓 dead鈥. This means something is funny (not that they鈥檙e literally deceased).
Such shifts may understandably be perplexing for older generations who are unfamiliar with evolving norms and slang.
Emojis can also take on distinct meanings on different platforms. They are embedded within 鈥減latform vernaculars鈥: the ever-evolving styles of communication that are unique to specific digital spaces.
For example, a thumbs up emoji (馃憤) from your boss at work is seemingly more acceptable, and less anxiety inducing, than from a romantic interest you鈥檝e just sent a risky text to.
This dilemma was echoed in a recent viral TikTok by user @kaitlynghull, which prompted thousands to comment about their shared confusion over emoji use in the workplace.
This reaction highlights a deeper communication issue.
A survey of 10,000 workers across the US, France, Germany, India and Australia, conducted by YouGov and software company Atlassian, found 65% of workers used emojis to convey tone in the workplace. But while 88% of gen Z workers thought emojis were helpful, this dropped to 49% for baby boomers and gen X.
The survey concluded some emojis can be interpreted in multiple ways, and these double meanings aren鈥檛 always safe for work.
Another example of platform-specific emoji use comes from social media content creators who deploy emojis to curate a certain aesthetic.
Under the Tiktok tag #emojicombo, you鈥檒l find thousands of videos showcasing emoji combinations that provide aesthetic 鈥渋nspo鈥. These combinations are used to represent different online identities or subcultures, such as 鈥渢hat girl鈥, 鈥渃lean girl鈥 or 鈥渙ld money鈥.
Users may include the combinations in their captions or videos to signal their personal style, or to express the mood or vibe of their online persona. In this way, the emojis help shape how they present themselves on the platform.
This example of emoji use is also a display of symbolic capital. It signals social alignment, in an environment where a user鈥檚 visibility (and popularity) is determined by their platform fluency.
Emojis, then, aren鈥檛 just tools for expression. They are badges of identity that index where a user stands in the online cultural hierarchy.
A single emoji might communicate irony, sincerity or sarcasm, depending on who is using it, what platform they鈥檙e using it on, and what generation they belong to.
This gap points to deeper questions around online access and participation, and the systems that shape online cultures.
And when the meaning of an emoji is platform-dependent and socially stratified, it can become as much about fitting in with a cultural in-group than conveying emotion.