The survey also revealed that 26-35-year-olds express themselves most often with emoticons, and the use of emojis decreases with age.
Among the most frequently used emoticons are the red heart, the smiling head, the smiling face with tears, the kind smiling face, and the head sending a kiss. It is interesting that while the like sign and the face crying out loud are also in the top five globally, they are less popular here. According to media researcher Ádám Guld, the use of symbols and images play an increasingly important role in the online space. This is typical of all generations, but is especially true for Generation Z (those born between 1995-2009), who are considered digital trendsetters.
Based on the research, generational differences in the use of emoticons can also be clearly observed in our country: while the smiling face (😂), for example, is one of the most popular emoticons among generation Z, generation X – born between 1965-1980 – uses it considerably less. On the other hand, the thumbs up (👍) and the solid smiley face (🙂) are more popular among the X generation, only a quarter of the Z generation respondents use them – moreover, they associate the use of the like sign with the older age group. In addition, the older the respondent, the less likely they are to put more of the same emoticon in a row.
Three-quarters of the respondents have already received an emoji that they were not sure of the meaning, and half of Gen Zers have had it happen that the person they sent the emoji to misunderstood it. Furthermore, 40 percent of Zs have been hurt or put in an unpleasant situation because of a misunderstood emoticon.
This is no accident, as the research also pointed out that individual emoticons can carry different meanings. Among other things, the biggest difference was seen with the like sign: while three quarters of those filling it in interpreted it as approval, 27 percent of Generation Z gave it a negative meaning (e.g. rejection, insult, “congratulations”). A similarly double meaning appears in the case of the classic smiling head: while 57 percent of Y (those born between 1984 and 1994) and X interpret it as a nice, cheerful, positive sign, about half of generation Z interpret it as passive-aggressive or negative (“I don’t appreciate “) use.
Photo: Illustration/pexels.com
Certain emoticons are more used by younger age groups. For example, while 19 percent of Gen Xers have never used the fire emoji and are unsure of its meaning or interpret it as hotness, 60 percent of Zers use it at least occasionally and associate it with the “cool” meaning. There is also a difference in the interpretation of the peach emoticon: while X and Y think of it as a fruit, the majority of Generation Z think of it as a sign of a woman’s rear. The younger age group also uses the clown when something has been messed up, the skull when something is very funny, and the red flag to indicate a reason to exclude. Generation X doesn’t even know these meanings.
2024-04-20 18:00:00