Hello, I am a millennial. In fact, I am an elder millennial. And I have to say something inflammatory: I agree with Gen Z when it comes to the crying-laughing emoji (also known as the “tears of joy” emoji).
They’ve been roasting our skinny jeans and our side parts, sure. But now they’ve come for our emojis, and guys… I think they should take this one from us.
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In case it wasn’t clear, Gen Z is having a BALL roasting us.
It’s truly a rite of passage for a new generation to roast their preceding one, and no one does it like Gen Z does. I mean, we did train them to use the internet, after all.
I’ll let a TikTok user explain why that emoji was never the right one to use.
“The laughing emoji is just not genuine. You’re not actually crying laughing, you’re just exhaling out your nose, you know?”
That is correct, tbh. At best, you’re mildly amused at what you’re seeing.
Gen Z is just not into it, you guys.
They have a pretty good reason for it, actually! The crying-laughing emoji tends to be a conversation ender — once you use it, it’s harder to keep the flow going.
Millennials have NOT been taking it well.
Quite a few have said that they’ve doubled down on using it just to irritate Gen Z, which is hysterical. We’re such a stubborn generation, you guys.
For some, the news that this emoji is over was upsetting.
Especially for those who have been using it unironically for months! It’s okay, at least they will begin avoiding it now.
Some millennials are refusing to give it up.
Hey, all the power to you. If this emoji speaks to your soul then Gen Z is just going to have to live with some people continuing to use it.
Okay, I’ll give Gen Z some credit for acknowledging that maybe we did overuse this particular emoji.
There were numerous comments and tweets from millennials just like this one saying that they use this emoji “all the time.” And… That’s the problem.
People love that little emoji.
Debates are pretty intense in the #laughingemoji section of TikTok, where camps are divided between those who LOVE the emoji, and those who despise it entirely.
This is a galaxy brain-level take.
Life is circular, all of this has happened before, etc. One day, we’ll all look back at our Gen Z vs Millennial debates and cringe, because the NEXT generation will have owned us all.
Our in-between generation isn’t having the BEST time watching us fight.
Zillennials, aka people who aren’t quite Gen Z and aren’t quite millennials, are having a truly interesting time trying to keep up with the dumb stuff we’re fighting over.
Okay, but what emojis CAN we use?
Let’s check back in with @itshannahwest. She says that three skulls are best, likely because they indicate something is so funny you straight up died laughing. Sticking with a simple “hahaha” will also do.
Now, here’s an idea we can all get behind.
If Gen Z has claimed the skull emoji for their own, maybe we millennials can come up with our own secret emoji no one else can use. Thoughts?
This is as close to “respect your elders” as this article will get.
Do we need to remind the younger generations that millennials basically INVENTED emojis? Sure, we were riffing off of Gen X and their emoticons, but we truly elevated these symbols to the status they enjoy today. Therefore, I think we get to choose which ones are still considered “cool.”
And if you MUST use a crying laughing emoji:
I don’t know why, but that emoji has better vibes. I think it’s the closed eyes. It’s just a chill, less cringey emoji, you know?
Getting old and keeping up with trends is exhausting, y’all.
