Latest news with #Emojipedia
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The secret emoji code Gen Z are using to confuse older generations: Youngsters ditch 'mainstream' characters for bizarre alternatives - so, do you know what they mean?
From 'skibidi' to 'rizz', it's safe to say that many members of Generation Z have their own language. Now, it seems that youngsters are also changing the way they use emoji. In an attempt to confuse the older generations, Gen Z are ditching 'mainstream' emoji in favour of bizarre alternatives. 'For the predominantly younger-skewing "chronically online," riding the wave of emerging trends helps forge identity and create distance from the "out-of-touch" older generations,' explained Emojipedia. 'In a culture shaped by brainrot, post-irony, and existential dread, avoiding the mainstream is a badge of honor. 'Creating underground memes and micro-viral moments that distinguish an in-the-know in-group from outsiders can be mini-milestones in establishing a generation's internet identity, leaving others on the outside feeling confused and out of the loop, often intentionally so.' Emojipedia has revealed three of the most unusual alternatives Gen Z are secretly using. So, do you know what these emoji really mean? Wilted rose emoji The broken heart emoji is usually the go-to character to convey sadness. But for Gen Z, the wilted rose has been deemed this emoji's cooler alternative. 'The Wilted Flower emoji, sometimes called the "dead rose" or the "dead flower," was deemed the chosen emoji to convey sadness, replacing the Broken Heart,' explained Emojpedia. 'The trend began in late February 2025, when a series of memes clowning on the overuse of the heartbreak emoji as too mainstream an emblem of performative sadness took root.' However, this alternative has caused much confusion amongst older social media users. Taking to TikTok, one user asked: 'What's up with this rose emoji and why is everyone using it? I'm seeing it way more and more recently - I don't get it at all.' Another said: 'Clearly somebody in the tech space has it out for me. That can be the only explanation for why that wilted rose emoji is being used so much right now.' One of the most bizarre alternatives being used by Gen Z is the chair emoji. Instead of symbolising furniture, the chair is used in place of the laughing emoji Chair emoji One of the most bizarre alternatives being used by Gen Z is the chair emoji. Instead of symbolising furniture, the chair is used in place of the laughing emoji. This trend dates back to 2021, when TikToker Anthony Mai proposed spamming KSI with the chair emoji as a stand-in for the classic Crying Laughing Face emoji. 'Within the following days, the chair-for-laughter joke had spread like wildfire across social media, with Chair emojis popping up all over TikTok video comments and as the subjects of videos themselves, confusing much of the internet at large,' Emojipedia said. Like the wilted flower emoji, the chair's proliferation has sparked confusion among people who haven't seen Mr Mai's video. 'Why is everyone using the chair emoji as laughing emoji?' one user questioned. Another added: 'Can someone pls explain why everyone keeps putting CHAIR EMOJIS? I'm so confused.' Aerial tramway emoji The aerial tramway emoji is one of the least-used characters. And that's exactly why it has become popular among Gen Z - who are using it instead of the laughing emoji. Inspired by Anthony Mai, YouTuber John Casterline posted a video urging people to use the aerial tramway as a replacement for the Crying Laughing Face. 'I came up with a plan where we can make this emoji one of the most used emojis, at least on YouTube,' he explained in the video. 'It's pretty simple. Instead of using laughing emojis from now on replace it with this. 'And if someone doesn't know why you're doing it, don't tell them. 'Let's just confuse every person who hasn't seen this video.' Despite only being posted one month ago, Mr Casterline's video has already wracked up over six million views - with the aerial tramway emoji flooding YouTube. 'The aerial-tramway-for-laughter meme has proven again that the seemingly meaningless Gen Z humor in its manifestation as the emoji replacement paradigm meme resonates with at least some users, time after time,' Emojipedia said.
CNET
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Here Are the Latest iPhone and Samsung Emoji and What Every Emoji Means
Apple added eight new emoji to all iPhones when the company released iOS 18.4 in March, and Samsung brought those same emoji to some devices in April with the initial release of One UI 7. The new emoji include a face with bags under its eyes and a splatter, but what do these new emoji, and the thousands of others, mean? A "😃" or "❤️" are easy to understand, but how are "😩" and "😭" different, and what does it mean when someone sends you food emoji like "🍆" or "🍑"? Over time, emoji meanings have become subjective, depending on a message's context and wider cultural trends. That face says it all. Apple Which shaking smiley face should you use? Is there a difference between each different colored heart? Does the peach emoji actually mean fruit anymore? Here's how to figure out what all 3,790 emoji mean and what emoji could be next. Read more: We Could Get a Sasquatch Emoji Soon Emojipedia is here to help Emojipedia is an online encyclopedia of emoji managed by people who research emoji. The site sorts emoji into nine categories, including Smileys, People, Objects, Activity and more. Each category then breaks down emoji into further subsections. So if you click into Smileys, for example, you'll see sections like Smiling & Affectionate and Sleepy & Unwell. If you click an individual emoji, Emojipedia will give you a brief description of that emoji. For example, here's what Emojipedia writes about the "🤍" white heart emoji: "A white heart emoji, used for love and affection. Also commonly used to discuss someone passing away or reference something heavenly or angelic." Emojipedia will also give you a list of other emoji that this particular emoji works well with. In the case of the "🎁" wrapped gift emoji, for example, Emojipedia's suggestions include the "🥳" partying face and the "🛒" shopping cart. What's a text message without an emoji or two? Jason Cipriani/CNET Each Emojipedia entry also shows you the different artwork for each emoji across platforms, as well as how the artwork evolved. The emoji entry will also show you shortcodes and other names for each emoji, if applicable. What are the most popular emoji? You may have your own go-to emoji, but according to Emojipedia, these are the most popular emoji as of the beginning of June. The list changes periodically, so what's popular now might not be popular next month or around a holiday. Note that not all platforms support all the latest emoji, so they may not all appear on your device. What are the latest emoji? Emojipedia In September, Google unveiled Emoji 16.0, which includes eight new emoji. Here are the new emoji. Apple included these emoji with iOS 18.4 in March, and Samsung brought these emoji to some devices with One UI 7 in April. Other Samsung devices should get these emoji with One UI 7 in the next few weeks. WhatsApp introduced these emoji to its app in January. How often are new emoji added? Anyone can submit an idea for a new emoji. The Unicode Standard -- a universal character encoding standard -- is responsible for creating new emoji. Unicode proposed nine new emoji in November, 2024, including a Sasquatch and an orca. However, those are just proposed emoji. Unicode will decide in September which emoji to add next. Emojipedia What about custom emoji, like Apple's Genmoji? Apple unveiled its emoji generator, Genmoji, at WWDC 2024, and the tech giant included the feature in iOS 18.2. However, only people with an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max or a device from the iPhone 16 lineup can access Genmoji for now. If you can't use Genmoji and want to create your own custom emoji, Emojipedia is home to two custom emoji generators. Emojipedia First is Emojipedia's AI emoji generator. You can use this tool to create anything from a frog wearing a cowboy hat to a heart shaped pizza. You type your description of the emoji into the generator, and the tool will create an emoji based on your description. You can then download or copy your custom emoji to your clipboard and use it as a sticker across messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage. This emoji generator is free, but you can only generate three emoji per day so make sure you describe your emoji as much as possible so you don't waste one of your tries. If you do run out of AI emoji generations for the day, you can also use the Emoji Mashup Bot, which combines two emoji from the Twemoji set. You can use this as many times as you want, but you can only choose up to 113 emoji to combine and they are all smileys. That means you can't be as creative in your creation as you might be in the AI emoji generator. All this just for emoji? Yeah, but wait there's more! Emojipedia also hosts the World Emoji Awards on World Emoji Day, July 17. Awards are given for things like Most Popular New Emoji and Most Anticipated Emoji. Winners are determined by popular vote on X, formerly known as Twitter, and any emoji approved the year prior is eligible to win. New emoji are added every year, and there are even awards given out for new emoji. Emojipedia The winner for the Most Popular New Emoji in 2024 was the head shaking horizontally (🙂↔️) followed by the head shaking vertically (🙂↕️) and the phoenix (🐦🔥). The winner of the Most Anticipated Emoji went to the face with bags under its eyes and the Most 2024 Emoji award went to the melting face (🫠) for the second year in a row -- it still fits. The sparkles (✨) emoji was also given the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Emojipedia wrote that this emoji has been among the most popular emoji since 2015, and it's been adopted as the go-to image for AI. In 2023, the most popular emoji was the pink heart emoji (🩷) and the runner-up was the shaking face (🫨). The most anticipated emoji award in 2023 went to the head shaking horizontally (🙂↔️). For more, here are the latest approved emoji, how to react to messages with emoji on your iPhone and how to use emoji instead of comments in Google Docs.
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Gen Z co-opted the smiley face emoji, but beware — it means something totally different to them
Smiling at Gen Z? Better watch your back. What used to be the universal symbol of warmth and joy has taken a sinister turn — at least in the eyes of Gen Z. The classic smiley face emoji now means something completely different to those under 30. Instead of conveying happiness, the grinning yellow face is now seen as dismissive, passive-aggressive, or straight-up sarcastic. And if you're sending it to younger colleagues or friends, it could be rubbing them the wrong way. Hafeezat Bishi, a 21-year-old intern, recently told the Wall Street Journal that she was taken aback when her older coworkers used the smiley emoji in emails and texts. 4 Flashing a smile at Gen Z? Brace yourself. The classic symbol of warmth and friendliness has morphed into something far snarkier — at least to them. Emojipedia 'I had to remember they are older, because I use it sarcastically,' Bishi said, explaining that she often views the emoji as conveying a 'side-eye smile' rather than genuine enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Sara Anderson, a 31-year-old cheerleading coach, told the outlet that she regularly includes the emoji to add 'lightness' to her messages. But that's exactly the disconnect — what seems friendly to older folks can come off as phony or even biting to the younger crowd. According to Erica Dhawan, author of 'Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance,' older generations tend to take emojis at face value, while younger 'digital natives' assign entirely different meanings. 4 Author Erica Dhawan says older folks read emojis by the book — but for Gen Z, those little icons pack a whole new punch. Tada Images – 'People over 30 tend to use emoji according to their dictionary,' Dhawan told the Journal, emphasizing that for Gen Z, emoji meanings have evolved into a whole new lexicon. But the generational gap isn't just about smileys. Back in March, Amit Kalley, founder of mom-and-dad support site For Working Parents, warned that emojis have become a covert language for teens to communicate everything from drug slang to hate speech. 'It's far from an exhaustive list, but it's based on common emojis used to say something very different to what you'd think,' Kalley wrote on Instagram, pointing to a 'periodic table of emojis' that decodes the hidden messages. 4 What looks like a friendly emoji to boomers and millennials? To Gen Z, it could mean a fake smile or a not-so-subtle jab. DisobeyArt – And the emoji evolution doesn't end there. A recent study from Oklahoma State University found that emoji use can reveal a lot more about your personality than you might think. Researchers surveyed 285 undergraduates, mostly 20-year-olds, to see how their emoji habits aligned with personality traits. 4 To Gen Z, that classic smiley face emoji isn't all sunshine — it's more of a smug, side-eye smirk that can come off as passive-aggressive in texts like above. 'Emoji use may be related to strategies to manipulate the perceptions of others and to present a positive impression of oneself,' the study said, suggesting that what you send could say more about you than you realize. So, the next time you slap a smiley face emoji on a message to Gen Z, think twice — it might not come off as cheery as you'd hoped.
Express Tribune
23-03-2025
- Express Tribune
Netflix's 'Adolescence' sparks warnings over hidden criminal meanings of emoji, could be used as evidence in court
Legal experts have issued fresh warnings about the hidden dangers of emoji use, revealing how the popular digital symbols can now play a central role in criminal investigations. The surge of attention follows Netflix's gripping new crime drama Adolescence, in which detectives crack a case by uncovering sinister meanings behind everyday emoji. In real-world cases, emoji have appeared in more than 1,000 legal proceedings in the US since 2010. Symbols such as the knife, gun, crown, and aubergine are increasingly used to communicate threats, harassment, or criminal intent—especially among gang members or in cases of sexual misconduct. 'Courtrooms need to keep up with the contemporary modes of communication as all crime is planned and committed through language,' said Professor Russel Kaschula from the University of the Western Cape. While no emoji is inherently illegal, legal context is key. For example, repeatedly sending gun or knife emoji to someone with whom you've argued may be deemed threatening. In one case, a student was expelled after sending a gun emoji to a classmate. Other symbols, like the crown and high heel, have appeared in sex trafficking trials as code for pimps and prostitution. Photo: Emojipedia The field of 'emoji forensics' is growing. Differences in emoji design across devices have already proved decisive in court. In 2021, a lawsuit was dismissed after it was shown that the heart-eyes emoji allegedly sent in a harassment case could not have appeared on the plaintiff's phone system. Photo: Rossbach v. Montiore Medical/Emojipedia Even high-profile lawsuits have involved emoji. Actor Justin Baldoni sued The New York Times for omitting an upside-down smiley emoji from a quote, arguing it changed the tone from sarcastic to malicious. Photo: Apple With nearly 4,000 emoji in use today, experts are calling for formalised interpretation standards. As Professor Eric Goldman explains, 'Emoji are flooding the legal system,' and their implications can determine guilt or innocence.
