Going skulls and emo for the win: Why Gen Z is ditching the traditional laugh for a more edgy approach
Global Laughter Celebration: Generation Z Swaps Smiling Emojis with Crying Faces and Skull Symbols
Sick of the laughing emoji becoming the digital embodiment of a grandpa's fart joke? Well, buckle up, because we're about to get deep (and dark). Turns out, Gen Z has zero time for tradition when it comes to humor, and their preferred emojis are straight out of a gothic fever dream. From the skull to the crying face, these emojis serve as a perfect expression of the Gen Z ethos: complex, nuanced, and dripping with irony.
So, while their elders are still chuckling away like hyenas in heat, Gen Z is lurking in the shadows, lurking with emojis like the skull, the crying face, and the rock. And to be honest, their nonchalant, “brain-rotted” humor might just be the key to unlocking the future of digital communication.
Irish emoji expert Keith Broni (serious scholarly cred) dropped some truths to the Irish Mirror, explaining why millennials and boomers are about as hip as your grandmother's neutron-sweater collection. "The laughing emoji is steadily falling out of fashion as Gen Z opts for the skull emoji to convey laughter instead," he said. And he's spot-on; just take a scroll through your Instagram feed and you'll see the skull emoji popping up like the skeletons in your pants after a wild night out.
But Gen Z doesn't just use these emojis to be hipsters; there's some mind-blowing psychology at play, too ( Astronauts aren't the only ones with a multi-billion-dollar claim to our attention).
For example, Atisha Pratap Singh, a digital content creator, believes that Gen Z struggles with self-expression in the digital age. The unconventional emoji choices offer a shortcut for self-expression, Collins dictionary, not required. "These emojis are anything but their literal meaning," she argues, "and that's exactly the kind of extra layer of fun Gen Z is looking for." Srishti Garg, another digital content creator, goes further, asserting that Gen Z is "unhinged" and "nonchalant," so expressing themselves through the best emoji game gonna be nothing short of supersonic funk.
Mehak Dhawan, the third digital content creator we've been lucky enough to interview, suggests that these emojis exaggerate emotions, resulting in a perfect blend of irony and absurdity. "The way we use emojis now is a reflection of how language is evolving online," she says, "with slang, memes, and emoji combos, it's like we're speaking in a digital dialect."
In other words, the emojis that Gen Z loves are more dramatic (in the best way) than your average replied-to-all office email about the summer potluck, and they do a better job of capturing the nuances of today's online humor. So, if you want to stay relevant and look like you've been enjoying the sweet nectar of the Fountain of Youth, it's time to ditch the laughing emoji and embrace the darkness. Because nothing says "I'm hip" like a skull emoji, right?
In the realm of digital communication, Gen Z prefers expressing laughter with the skull emoji over the traditional laughing emoji, a shift that reflects a contemporary lifestyle. Furthermore, the interest in technology extends beyond staying hip, as Gen Z uses emojis for complex, multi-layered self-expression, contributing to the evolution of digital dialect and online humor.
