Gen Z, the generation born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010s, is making waves once again. This time, their attention is focused on the supposedly innocent thumbs-up emoji. To many, the thumbs-up symbol is seen as harmless and friendly, but Gen Z believes it has a passive-aggressive and even rude connotation.
A Reddit thread started by a young employee complaining about the thumbs-up emoji sparked a lively discussion on the topic. While older individuals may perceive the emoji as a form of agreement, approval, or acknowledgment, the Gen Z participants on the thread found it “unsettling” and even hostile. The thumbs-up emoji receives heavy use in their workplace communication on Microsoft Teams, but the original poster prefers using the heart reaction instead.
One participant shared their experience, stating, “For younger people (I’m 24 for reference), the thumbs-up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive. It’s super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up. So, I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same. So yeah, it’s a generational communication culture difference. Everyone my age in the office doesn’t do it, but the Gen X people always do it. Took me a bit to adjust and get out of my head that it means they’re mad at me.”
The debate continued, with another person suggesting that the unsettling feeling may stem from the impersonal nature of the thumbs-up emoji. They believed that the original poster preferred more genuine interactions with others. Interestingly, someone approaching the age of 40 commented that they would find the heart reaction more unsettling, posing the question of whether this controversy is a generational divide.
While companies like Apple and Google can create their own designs for emojis, the framework for their usage is established by the California-based nonprofit, Unicode Consortium. The consortium releases new emojis every year, and at present, there are 3,782 emojis available.
So, what are your thoughts on this issue? Is the thumbs-up emoji truly as passive-aggressive as Gen Z perceives it to be? Let us know your opinion!
