Gen Z call for people to stop using thumbs-up emoji after sharing what they think it really means

Gen Z has called for everyone to stop using the thumbs up emoji for one huge reason.

Social media users everywhere might be shocked to know that an emoji has apparently been cancelled by Gen Z, who are people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s.

Yep, they've come for 'Boomer ellipses' and 'the Millennial pause', and now not even a simple thumbs up is safe.

This all began with a thread on Reddit, where someone brought the emoji up as a topic of discussion. But why?

Be careful with your emojis, someone could get offended. (Getty Stock Photo)

Well, it turns out that a lot of Gen Zs think that the emoji, meant to signify 'good' or 'yes' on mobile phones, is actually rude. I didn't know either.

The user who started all of this came to the platform to find out if others were as offended by the menacing thumb as they were when they got it in a text message.

They said: “I started an ‘adult’ job where we use Microsoft Teams to connect with each other for work.

“Currently, there are only a few emojis you can use to react to a message (unless of course, you respond, and can use any emoji).

“Most people at work use the ‘thumbs-up’ reaction all the time.

“I don’t use it much. I either ‘heart’ reactions or reply even if it’s a short ‘Great!’ or ‘Thanks!’ (I also feel like I use too many exclamation marks, but that’s a different story).

Some could view this as a micro-aggression. (Getty Stock Photo)

“Anyway, I think it’s normal to ‘thumbs up’ messages, but I still feel like it’s such an unsettling response.

“Does anyone else feel this way?”

It turns out that a lot of people feel this way, for one reason or another as the use of the emoji also makes people look old.

One user commented: "I feel the same way! We even have a sort of social platform/yammer and I can't only like a post. I lead by feelings though so it may be because of that... I get mad seeing thumbs ups lol it's pretty bad."

A second said: "It’s not that odd to see it as passive-aggressive.

“Just imagine how would it feel to go into your boss’ room, say something, and then see him turn to you, look you in the eye, and [give you a thumbs up]."

Now that you mention it... (Getty Stock Image/Lu ShaoJi)

Another revealed: “For younger people (I’m 24 for reference) the thumbs up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive.

“It’s super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs up. So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same.

“So yeah, it’s a generational communication culture difference.”

But other users disagreed with the assessment, with a different user posting: "It's just a way to say 'I've read your message and have nothing add and I hope and pray to all the god all the bazillion people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too.'"

A fifth user said: “Passive aggressive? Are you being serious or facetious? It’s a thumbs up.

“It means ‘I got it’ or ‘OK, message received’.

“What in the world can possibly be passive-aggressive in that? Newsflash, not everything is a micro-aggression.”