Lost in Digital Translation: The Hidden Meanings Behind Emojis That Are Dividing the Generations

A smile emoji is not always a symbol of happiness — at least not for Gen Zers, who are more likely to use it to express sarcasm or disdain.

In fact, there’s a huge emoji generation gap between baby boomers, Gen X, millennials and Gen Z, who are between 13 and 28 years old.

For millennial Sara Anderson, a 31-year-old cheerleading coach, the smiley face emoji adds “lightness” to her messages, she told The Wall Street Journal.

But Gen Z intern Hafeezat Bishi said she was shocked when her older colleagues used the smile emoji in emails. “I had to remember they are older, because I use it sarcastically,” Bishi told The Journal. She explained that she uses it more to “side-eye” a comment, rather than to express joy.

While people over 30 take them at face value — a smile is a smile — emojis have much different meanings for younger “digital natives,” who grew up using technology.

Take the thumbs-up emoji. Millennials, Gen Xers and boomers use it to signal agreement, but for younger people, it’s seen as snarky or disparaging.

Another disconnect comes with the sparkle emoji. Older users use it to express excitement or celebration, but for Gen Z, it denotes sarcasm or mockery.

For them, the fire emoji doesn’t refer to a literal fire or heat but to communicate that something — or someone — is hot, as in desirable.

Younger people also take advantage of emojis’ double meanings to conceal potentially “sinister” messages, warns Amit Kalley, founder of the organization For Working Parents.

To hide references to drugs, they may use a tree, leaf or branch emoji to represent marijuana, a snowflake for cocaine and a money bill for MDMA.

So, the next time you add an emoji on a message to a Gen Zer, think twice — it might not have the meaning you intend.