So have you heard? Supposedly, the laughing and crying emoji has gone out of date and using it is a sure sign that you’re old.

Stop the presses!

Gen Z, those born after 1997, have apparently stated that this is so on social media, especially TikTok.

This is despite the fact that the emoji has been extremely popular since 2017. As a CNN article noted: “‘Face with Tears of Joy,’ the official name for the laughing and crying emoji, is the most used emoji on Emojitracker, a website that displays real-time emoji usage on Twitter.” In 2020, it was still the most popular emoji.

So what happened?

Are the baby boomers to blame?

Of course, as with everything else, the boomers are blamed for their demise. Jeremy Burge, Emojipedia’s director of emoji, recently wrote a blog post saying, “It’s common wisdom on TikTok that the laughing and crying emoji are for boomers. And by boomers I mean anyone over the age of 35.”

God forbid, teens and young adults don’t want to be seen using the same emoji as their grandparents! But we’re not the only targets, as Burge’s 35+ comment shows.

Interestingly, millennials (those born between 1980 and 1996), many of whom try to keep their cool as they approach their 30s and 40s, seem to be the target this time as well. Add to the overuse of this suddenly obnoxious emoji by millennials calling their dog “doggo” (I didn’t even realize this was a thing), skinny jeans, and even the side parts are out too and a sign of that you are old and “out of touch”.

As a millennial writer said in an article for Yahoo! Sports: “As a lifelong partner, yikes.”

According to that article, Generation Z also makes fun of the way millennials use the word “adulting,” their addiction to avocado toast and Starbucks coffee, and the way they refer to themselves as “90 kids.” “.

it’s karma friends

The funny thing about all of this is that some millennials have been making fun of us boomers for years.

Remember the popular phrase, “OK Boomer” that started making the rounds a couple of years ago? As I blogged on this topic, the term seemed to imply that we boomers are old-fashioned, resistant to change, behind in technology, and out of touch.

So, I guess, what goes around comes around.

However, I hate to see someone using insulting and derogatory slogans based solely on the generation people were born into, which is completely out of our control, by the way. One day, Generation Z will get old and will no doubt get a taste of their own medicine. Everyone gets old eventually, you know.

I, myself, am tired of the way all the social platforms have made insulting each other too easy. I’m tired of age discrimination. I wish mutual respect could replace this pointless mockery of each other. Why can’t the “generation gap” become old-fashioned and outdated?

With all that said, don’t take it too hard, millennials. One day, you’ll reach our age and you won’t care so much what other people think.

After a recent viral TikTok listed all the things millennials do that Gen Z doesn’t approve of, millennials responded by defending their fashion choices, hairstyles, and use of emoji. They noted that Generation Z was once encouraged to eat Tide Pods as a viral challenge and that younger people lack the ability to write in cursive. Therefore, there! But does all this really matter?

Calm down millennials, you’ll get to the age where you don’t care what others think about your emoji clothing and you won’t feel this need to stand up for your choices.

In fact, I think this boomer will use the laughing and crying emoji even more just to be rebellious. And my side part also stays. And while I’m not a millennial, I do enjoy some avocado toast from time to time.

That’s the beauty of getting older, as I wrote when I turned 60. I know what matters, and overusing an emoji isn’t one of them! They make fun of us, but being an older adult is liberating in that sense.

Don’t worry, millennials. You will get there.