The worst emojis to use in 2022: Passive-aggressive thumbs-up only used by old people

Sending a thumbs-up can be seen as passive aggressive and even confrontational, according to Gen Z, who claims they feel attacked when it’s used.

Whether the chat is informal, between friends or at work, the icon appears to have a very different, ‘rude’ meaning to the younger generation.

A 24-year-old on Reddit summed up Gen Z’s argument, saying it’s best used “never in any situation” because it’s “hurtful.”

“Nobody my age in the office does it, but the Gen X people do it all the time. It took me a bit to adjust and get out of my head that it means they’re mad at me,” he added.

Other emojis used by “old people” include the red love heart, the OK hand and the grimacing face, according to a recent poll of 2,000 young people aged 16-29.

Others agreed it’s bad form, especially at work where the team can come across as unfriendly and unfriendly.

“My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send information to each other and most people there just responded with a thumbs up. I don’t know why, but it seemed a little hostile to me,” said one woman.

And according to Business Consultant Sue Ellson, it may be time to lead the way with the younger generation.

She believes that words are always better than symbols in a professional icon and can see people becoming disillusioned with the ‘all good’ icon.

“Predictive systems can type a word like ‘Thank you’ in two clicks after a while,” she told FEMAIL.

“It feels like people are ‘too lazy’ to type a written response and it doesn’t clarify the next steps,” she said.

“You mean yes, I’ll do something, okay, I agree or is it just confirmation that you got the message,” she added.

And a poll of 2,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 29 found the same thing, with the majority who used it agreeing that those who drive are “officially old and past.”

Some people say it took them a long time to realize their boss wasn’t mad at them when they sent the thumbs up

Other emojis used by “old people” who are in the top ten are the red love heart, the OK hand, and a grim face.

Office workers on Reddit have long been divided on the issue — and it seems age has everything to do with it.

While people in their mid-thirties and older like to use the thumbs up, younger people are not.

‘Why do you find it annoying? Honest question… because that’s literally how I respond to 90% of the messages… However, I’m almost 40,” said one person.

And it seemed that the older the person behind the keyboard, the more likely they were to “love” to give the thumbs up.

“I love it because it means a lot of things. It means ‘I approve’ or ‘I have understood and will obey’ or ‘I agree’. Anyway, my only objection would be that some days it’s hard to tell which one it means. But in general it’s pretty clear,” says one woman.

Ms Ellson said some people hate the thumbs up because it’s seen as an automatic option and ‘may have been pressed by accident’.

And agreed with other people’s fears that it could be misunderstood.

“It potentially has very different meanings, depending on the cultural background of the recipient — approval, happiness, encouragement, number one, or going to the surface while diving,” she said.

She thinks the thumbs up should “stay on social media” or at most text messages,

“It can be a nice technique to like a message before responding in text because it signals that the sender’s message was ‘good’ and this can benefit the relationship,” she said.

Ms. Ellson said it’s important to understand relationship dynamics in a workplace before deciding to use emojis or not.

This includes whether the organization would like staff to send emojis to customers.

It’s also important to “check in” with the staff to make sure no one is offended by the chosen emojis, as their meaning can change across communities.