A 30-year-old student named Scarlett, known as @genwhyscarlett, shared a video on TikTok, recounting her experience of living in a dormitory with younger students. She learned the true meaning of some emojis.
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In the footage, she explains the true meaning of some emojis according to Gen Zers, and it has taken TikTok by storm.
The cute eyes emoji is commonly used by older adults to express something irresistibly cute, like a puppy or a kitten.
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In the footage, Scarlett has left viewers surprised by the rather X-rated interpretation from the Gen Z generation, born between 1997-2012.
She also humorously explains that for some inexplicable reason, she said: 'This, for some godforsaken reason, means either 'innocent" or 'horny'.
Scarlett has a few more revelations about emojis. She suggests that the thumbs-up emoji is used passively-aggressively, the upside-down emoji symbolizes 'f*** my life,' and even innocent cherries apparently represent the emoji of choice for boobs.
Since its upload, Scarlett's video has garnered over 2 million views, leaving many people amused.
One person commented: Well I’m usually cringing when I use it, so seems like I’m still on task
Another said: I thought meant something was really cute
Someone else added: Oh no! I send people thumbs up all the time
Another wrote: That’s why this girl got crazy mad at me when I gave a thumbs up reaction to a Facebook message?! I respond that way to everything! IRL too!
Introducing herself as an RA (resident assistant) in the dorms, she finds herself surrounded by Gen Z kids between the ages of 18–21 who communicate in a completely different manner from what she's used to.
For them, group chats are a big thing with them, and their rapid-fire communication style involves emojis and memes. Due to this, it has been a learning experience for her.
She said: "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."
