A 30-year-old woman who studies and lives with Gen Z'ers at university has revealed the shocking discovery that the cute eyes emoji means something completely different to those born from 1997 – 2012. Watch below as she takes a look at the way Gen Z use emojis:
Scarlett, who goes by @genwhyscarlett on TikTok, recently uploaded a viral video showing what our everyday emojis mean to Gen Z'ers and it has taken TikTok by storm.
Advert
Among the many revelations that's made us feel suddenly very old, perhaps the most shocking of the emoji-discoveries was the 'cute eyes' emoji, otherwise known as the 'pleading face', as per dictionary.com.
The 30-year-old who's 'currently living in the dorms with Gen Z kids explained: "This, for some godforsaken reason means either 'innocent' or 'horny'."
Wait... what?
Users in the comments were, quite predictably, flabbergasted by this 'discovery'.
One user who echoed similar thoughts wrote: "Wait what?? I thought this was like tearing up?!."
Advert
Another disappointed user commented: "I use ... alot."
A third simply wrote: "Nothing is safe."
"Second guessing every ... I’ve ever dropped," someone else wrote.
I completely regret putting that emoji next to a 'sorry for your loss' message.
Advert
A final user concluded: "such a complex emoji."
Maybe we all need to get board with that.
Anyway, her vid racked up a mega 2.6 million views in just three days and Scarlett gave a few more examples of Gen Z emoji uses, including the fact that the classic 'thumbs up' is used in a passive-aggressive way, and the laughing face with a sweat bead means someone is stressed.
The 'pouty face' emoji apparently means 'sounds good to me' to the youngsters and the cherries mean nothing more than t*****s. Yep.
Advert
Incase you might be questioning her expertise, Scarlett explained to Buzzfeed what her living situation is like.
She said: "I am an RA (resident assistant) in the dorms and surrounded by Gen Z kids between the ages of 18–21 who have an entirely different way of communicating than what I'm used to.
"Group chats are a big thing with them, so the rapid-fire communication style has been a learning curve for me. Specifically with emojis, memes, and phrases.
"I'm the first one to laugh at myself for being old and obsolete, so I'm always asking questions and my Gen Z peers are more than happy to indulge me."
Advert
"Gen Z is a much kinder generation than you would expect," she added.
"As someone who was bullied on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and Myspace in middle school, I expected the opposite from kids who have never known life without social media..."
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@genwhyscarlettTopics: TikTok