Emojis can be a great way to express emotion through text. They first appeared in Japanese mobile phones in the late 90s and quickly became popular in Japan. Companies outside of Japan, like Apple, incorporated these emojis into their own interfaces, leading to the global spread of emojis. Since their creation, emojis have evolved in meaning, leading to different generations interpreting emojis differently.
Older generations tend to use emojis as they were originally intended. For example, they might use the skull emoji to symbolize death or pain. They use them more formally, often to add positivity and warmth to their messages. In addition, their messages generally use emojis in a more straightforward manner rather than to add irony.
On the other hand, younger generations usually use emojis more ironically. For example, they often use the skull emoji to symbolize laughter, as in “I’m dying from laughter.” This difference in emoji interpretation and use can lead to miscommunication. Younger generations also use emojis more frequently than older ones. A 2025 study by Frontiers in Psychology found that younger users use emojis 8.3 percent more frequently than older ones.
This disconnect in interpretations is mainly due to trends that constantly change and evolve. Younger generations tend to favor following trends and what’s popular, while older generations use more traditional interpretations. Younger people also grew up with emojis, whereas older ones didn’t. The addition of memes furthers the misunderstanding. An example of this is the 
. While younger people see this as passive-aggressive or sarcastic, older people see it as friendly or polite. Younger generations often find older generations’ use of emojis to be outdated, while older generations often fail to keep up with the latest trends
The same study by Frontiers in Psychology found that seventy percent of people aged eighteen to forty four interpret 
as “speechless” while seventy-nine percent of people above sixty years old interpret it as “goodbye”. They also found that ninety-six percent of younger people, seventy-nine percent of middle-aged people, and seventy-three percent of older people believe there are generational differences regarding emoji interpretation and use.
Emojis have a big impact on people’s everyday lives, and are ingrained in online culture.
As they continue to evolve, the difference in interpretations continues to grow. They may seem simple, but they are a language that reflects culture and ongoing trends.
Works Cited:
Zahra, Tehreem, and Soban Ahmed. “Generational Differences in Emoji Interpretation: A Study of Millennial, Gen Z, and Baby Boomers.” `, www.assajournal.com/index.php/36/article/view/383. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
Wu, Donghang, et al. “Is There an Intergenerational Discrepancy in the Comprehension and Aesthetic Preference Regarding Emoji Usage? Evidence from WeChat.” Frontiers in Psychology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 July 2024, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11333970/#sec7.
