Gen Z ditch the ‘crying with laughter’ emoji because their parents use it: Youngsters declare the symbol ‘dead’ and adopt the SKULL to indicate their amusement instead
- The ‘Cry laughing’ or ‘tears of joy’ emoji is over, say Gen Z social media users
- Instead they use the ‘skull’ or ‘coffin’ emoji to indicate ‘I’m dead from laughing’
- Gen Z users want to turn their back on emojis ‘overused’ by older users
It is one of the most popular emojis on the internet, but Gen Z users have declared the ‘crying with laughter’ face ‘dead’.
Over recent weeks Gen Z users (born post-1996) have taken to Twitter and TikTok to declare they ‘don’t use’ the crying with laughter face because it’s for ‘millennials or parents’.
In a recent blog post, Emojipedia, an authority on the use of emojis online, explained: ‘It’s common wisdom on TikTok that the laughing crying emoji is for boomers. And by boomers I mean anyone over the age of 35.’
Instead Gen Z favour the ‘skull’ or ‘coffin’ symbol to express their amusement. The reasoning being that the joke or situation is so funny it’s caused them to ‘die’ of laughter.
Death of the ‘tears of joy’ emoji: Gen Z users (born post-1996) on platforms including Twitter and TikTok have declared the ‘tears of joy’ or ‘crying with laughing’ emoji (left) – a favourite of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) – ‘dead’. Instead they prefer the skull (right)
They have also revived lol (laugh out loud) and lmfao (laughing my f*****g a** off) – always written in lower case – as expressions of amusement, which were popular on early instant messaging and texting apps before being replaced by emojis.
The switch is part of a wider trend that has seen Gen Z social media users ‘cancel’ popular millennial trends like skinny jeans and side hair partings.
It also reflects how younger users want to distance themselves from the ‘boring’ and literal way millennials communicate online, according to experts.
Older generations tend to use emojis literally while younger people get more creative, Jeremy Burge, the chief emoji officer of Emojipedia, an emoji dictionary website, told CNN.
For example, millennials use the pregnant emoji when someone is pregnant, while Gen Z use it to indicate someone is attractive. The convoluted logic is that they’re so good looking, they can ‘make people pregnant just by looking at them’.
The fact that the ‘face with tears of joy’ emoji – its official name – also doesn’t help its cause.
The emoji is currently the most-used emoji on Emojitracker, a website that shows real-time emoji use on Twitter, and topped Emojipedia’s list of the most-used emojis on Twitter in 2020.
‘Tears of Joy was a victim of its own success,’ Gretchen McCulloch, an internet linguist and author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language, told the publication.
If you indicate digital laughter for years and years in the same way, it starts to feel insincere. … The hyperbole gets worn out through continued use.’
As one teenager explained on Twitter: ‘I have to use the tears of joy emoji when I speak to my mum. Every time I do, I die a little inside.’
In response to an older user asking ‘what’s wrong with the emoji’ on TikTok, a 15-year-old responded: ‘You should use that emoji bc [because we sure aren’t going to].’
On the other side of the argument, TikTok user @lesby.onix shared a video of himself gasping and running outside, writing: ‘Me realizing that using the [tearss of joy] emoji makes you look ancient.’
Younger users have also grown bored of the straightforward way emojis are used by older users, and want to distinguish themselves or rebel against the status quo, according to Gretchen McCulloch, an internet linguist and author of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language.
How well do YOU know emojis?
Each of the emojis below has been given a fresh meaning by Gen Z users. Scroll down, take a guess, and check your answers at the bottom of the story
The clown and pregnant woman might seem straightforward – but their meanings aren’t
The sparkle and coffin emojis have also been given new meanings by Gen Z users
The meanings attributed to these emojis are different to the emotions they portray
These pointing fingers are used together – but what do they mean?
Even the cowboy has been given a revamp by Gen Z social media users
ANSWERS
The clown is used to indicate someone’s behaviour has been ‘foolish’. For example, if someone went to meet an ex and ended up sleeping with them, a friend might respond with this emoji. The pregnant woman is a sign of praise and can be found in the comments section of racy Instagram pictures. The idea is that the poster has ‘become pregnant’ just by looking at the attractive image/video
The sparkles are more nuanced but are used to indicate sarcasm in text, or simply to emphasise a word, in the same way italics might be used. Similar to the skull emoji, the coffin is used to indicate someone is ‘dead’ because a situation is so funny
The slightly smiling emoji is used to indicate a strained smile/false sense of calm when things around you are crumbling. The upside down smile is also used in a similar fashion. The heavy crying emoji is used to indicate you are overcome with emotion, namely, and confusingly, happiness. Also shows you have found something cute enough to cry over
The majority of people agree that it means ‘shy’. As if you were twiddling your fingers together, nervously. It could also mean that someone is being coy or acting cute
The cowboy emoji is a favourite among Gen Z TikTok users and describes your feeling when ‘you’re happy on the outside but dying and over it on the inside’