In a recent survey people have revealed that they find the thumbs up emoji offensive, but why exactly? Here we have broken down everything about why people find thumbs up emoji offensive and why Gen Z wants to cancel this emoji online.
Emojis play a crucial role in the online world. The social media platforms especially are colorless without these emojis. Though the concept of emojis emerged in the year 1999, they become widely available across operating systems in the 2010s. Now, all the captions, conversations, images, and videos are incomplete without these.
We cannot agree more with the fact that emojis help when we run out of words. They help us express our feelings without writing or saying anything. As the number of emojis is growing at a rapid speed, it is important for social media users to understand their meaning.
As several new emojis have joined the race, some old emojis have run out of fashion and people now find them offensive.
Similar is the case with the Thumbs Up emoji as people have started running campaigns to cancel this emoji online.
Why do people find the thumbs up emoji offensive? Does it convey a wrong message or is it has just run out of fashion? Why do people are calling out to cancel it online? Here is everything you need to know about this emoji. Stay tuned!
Gen Z Demands To Cancel The Thumbs Up Emoji
The thumbs up emoji can have different meanings in different contexts. Some days people may use it to agree with the opinion of the second person and other days it may be used to appreciate someone. It may also mean ‘sure!’, ‘will do’, or ‘received’ in some contexts. But for a few users, this emoji has some negative and offensive meanings. So, several of the Gen Z members have requested to cancel this emoji.
Users online are suggesting that they find this emoji a little rude, passive-aggressive or vague. Also, the emoji is associated with people of a certain age. They also have revealed that the emoji has grown out of fashion and represents people from old schools.
People have taken to Twitter to reveal that they don’t find this emoji attractive rather it gives them negative feelings.
Here is what the users on Twitter think about this emoji:
One user wrote, “I just read Gen Z finds the thumbs up emoji hurtful and passive-aggressive so…”
Another user said, Yes I use the thumbs up emoji and yes it makes me look old but trust me if actively tried to use some “not old” emoji I’d look way older.”
Headline: “why NOBODY should be using the thumbs up emoji:
I kid you not: because Gen Z feels attacked when it is used by Gen X,” joked another user.
“Today I learned that gen Z feels personally attacked when ‘old people’ use the thumbs up emoji and honestly, same”, wrote one.
Why Do They Find The Thumbs Up Emoji Offensive Online?
Most of the users have joked about how a simple emoji with a simple meaning can sound rude to someone.
“Today I learned from students that a thumbs-up emoji is supposed to be hurtful and passive-aggressive! Did you all know this”, expressed another user.
As per a survey, over 2000 young social media users agreed to the opinion that the thumbs up emojis are “old and past it.”
The survey also revealed that this emoji represents people of a certain age. They have an opinion that this emoji alongside the red heart emoji should stay out of your messages if you want to sound young and cool online.
Sue Ellson a Business Consultant revealed this emoji ‘Lazy’. The consultant further added, “It feels like people are ‘too lazy’ to type a written response, and it doesn’t provide clarity as to the next steps,” Ms Ellson said.
She also said that the use of the thumbs-up emoji is just too vague: “Do you mean yes I will do something, okay I agree, or is it just confirmation that you received the message.”
You may also want to read about The Meaning Of Purple Heart Emoji On TikTok
The Last Words
This was all about why people find the thumbs up emoji offensive and why are they demanding to cancel it online. What is your opinion about this? Let us know in the comment box below.