Why using this emoji is now causing offence

TAKE care when you next text the younger members of your family – because they may take offence to certain emojis, an expert has warned.

Keith Broni, editor in chief of Emojipedia – a website that explains the icons’ meanings – revealed teenagers and those in their mid- twenties find the thumbs up and slightly smiling symbols ‘passive aggressive’.

He suggested older texters should select emojis with caution because they could get lost in translation by Generation Z – those born in the late 1990s until 2010.

To be on the safe side, the 32-year- old advised sending an overly expressive emoji for emotional clarity.

Mr Broni said emojis were fast becoming more popular than punctuation marks but their use, meaning, and what they may imply to those receiving them differed greatly between age groups.

‘As with language, we should address who we are speaking to before sending them an emoji,’ he said. ‘People from younger generations are trying to avoid the thumbs up emoji as they see it as passive aggressive and a low-effort response.’

He also warned the ‘ slight smile’ face was seen as ‘highly performative and slightly passive aggressive’. A 24-year-old on social media forum Reddit said the thumbs up emoji was ‘hurtful’ and thought it meant people were ‘mad at me’. Others agreed, adding it appeared unfriendly.

Older users said they ‘love’ the emoji as it was ‘generally pretty clear’ in suggesting they agreed or approved. Mr Broni said the crying laughter emoji was also losing popularity among Generation Z.

A survey earlier this year found Britons were now happier using emojis, memes and Gifs to express their emotions than by talking.