Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Dec 10, 2025

Sorry, but if you use these 10 emoji you're officially old

Sorry, but if you use these 10 emoji you're officially old

The Gen Z versus millennials versus boomers war rages on, and today, the ammo is emoji use.

If you’ve been on TikTok or Twitter, you’ll already know that using the crying laughing emoji is an immediate signifier that you are old (meaning over the age of 20) and out of touch.

But this is not the only emoji that has been thrown into the wastebin to gather dust.

A poll of 2,000 16 to 24-year-olds has revealed that there are in fact ten emoji that define you as utterly decrepit, including the thumbs up, the red heart, and the ‘ok’ hand.

The survey, from research and insight agency Perspectus Global, declares that these emoji are not just old-fashioned, but cringeworthy.

We’re so sorry.

The ten emojis that only 'old' people use


1. Thumbs up 👍
2. Red heart ❤️
3. Ok hand 👌
4. Check mark ✔️
5. Poo -💩
6. Loudly Crying Face 😭
7. Monkey eye cover 🙈
8. Clappy hands 👏
9. Kiss mark 💋
10. Grimacing Face😬

Despite being relegated to the scrapheap of oldness, the laughing crying emoji remains the most popular emoji across all ages, perhaps because those over the age of 24 outnumber the youths.

The least popular emoji across all demographics was the skull and crossbones.

The survey also found that many people – 78% of Brits – have incorrectly used an emoji, often on repeated occasions, before finding out its true, likely ruder meaning. Think the aubergine emoji.

Evie Porter of Perspectus Global said: ‘With the average Briton sending 76 emojis a week, across multiple platforms, it’s clear that these symbols are now a vital part of our daily communication – on both a personal and professional level.

‘Yet this research indicates the importance of assessing which ones you use. Unless you want to be seen as old fashioned, it seems wise to avoid the thumbs up symbol.’

That’s us told. Maybe we can just stick to using our words.

Alternatively, stop caring about what young people think of how socially relevant you are. True coolness comes from within.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
×