Be the first to comment. To Gen Z, that classic smiley face emoji isn’t all sunshine — it’s more of a smug, side-eye smirk that can come off as passive-aggressive in texts like above.

Gen Z's interpretation of the smiley face emoji isn't new, although it's making headlines again. In 2021, the Wall Street Journal ran a whole piece on it and included insight from Gen Z.

Of course the smiley face wasn’t always just an emoji. It actually has a steeper history that’s older than any Gen Z. According to The Guardian, the smiley face was invented in 1963 “as a ...

For millennials and the older generations, a smiley face is just a way of expressing happiness, but it can have a very different meaning for Gen Z. Instead of being a genuine smile, Gen Z take ...

The smiley face, heart, praying hands and other “emoji” have become the way millions playfully punctuate their texts, Internet posts and messages.

Meanwhile, users ranked the cowboy hat, cherry and upside-down smiley face as the top three most “misunderstood” emoticons. The most popular emojis, as ranked by the 2022 US Emoji Trend Report.

The smiley face emoji is no longer being perceived as joyful. The generation born between 1997 and 2012 finds it to be anything but positive. Yup, that's right.

Gen Z co-opted the smiley face emoji, but beware — it means something totally different to them What used to be the universal symbol of warmth and joy has taken a sinister turn – at least in ...

Gen Z co-opted the smiley face emoji, but beware — it means something totally different to them What used to be the universal symbol of warmth and joy has taken a sinister turn – at least in ...