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A Boomer's guide to spotting a Millennial – according to Generation Z

Generation Z has declared the laughing crying emoji dead, because it has been overused by millennials and boomers 
Generation Z has declared the laughing crying emoji dead, because it has been overused by millennials and boomers

What is yellow, round and cries – but grins at the same time? No, not a picture of Donald Trump leaving the White House. It's the laughing-crying emoji, which is commonly used to represent someone laughing so hard that tears are streaming down their face.

Too commonly, it seems. The leaky smile is apparently sending shudders down the spines of Gen Z, who have officially declared that the emoji is dead.

Yes, that’s right. Just as you were getting to grips with the millennial habit of attaching a spherical yellow face to the end of every sentence, the rules suddenly change. This week, Generation Z, or “Zoomers” as they are known on social media, declared the laughing crying emoji is no longer cool, because it is overused by boomers and millennials. Many took to the video-sharing app TikTok to make their feelings about the emoji known.

One user, @kykythattiktoker, posted a video captioned: “if you use the crying laughing emoji non ironically we can’t be friends.”

@kykythattiktoker

If you use the crying laughing emoji non ironically we can’t be friends

♬ original sound - The Funny Parts

In a sign that we have reached peak internet culture, the emoji has been cancelled. If you don’t believe us, then just ask the experts; a blog post by Jeremy Burge on Emojipedia reads: “It's common wisdom on TikTok that the laughing crying emoji is for boomers. And by boomers I mean anyone over the age of 35.”

So, you ask, with more than a hint of exasperation, having only just learned the correct use of the laugh-cry face, what are they all using instead? Answer: the skull face. According to Burge, it means: “This is so funny I have died from laughter” or “I'm dead”. Obvious, really.

This isn't the first time that Gen Z has waged metaphorical war on millennials. From chastising their avocado toast to instructing them to rip up their skinny jeans, here is an updated guide on how to spot a millennial – according to the new new kids on the block.

Skinny Jeans

Gen Z takes great umbrage at skinny jeans. Since their heyday in the late Noughties, when they were popularised by boho It-girls such as Paris Hilton, Sienna Miller and Linsday Lohan, skinnies have been a popular choice of millennial men and women. But while the Noughties was all about flaunting what you've got, 2021 is about hiding it: the baggier the jean, the better. Don’t believe us? Perhaps the message might be more powerful coming from one TikToker who remarked she would rather die than wear skinny jeans. Another viral video shows TikTok user @momohkd instructing people to throw away their skinny jeans, burn them, or cut them and make them into something else. Like face masks, perhaps?

Avocados

The middle-class fruit of choice is a defining factor of millennial life – and boomers have bullied them about it for a long time. Here's a common yet entirely imaginary conversation from a generic kitchen in Middle Britain:

Parent: "You're always complaining about global warming, but do you have any idea what all that avocado you eat is doing to deforestation?"

Millennial: "Remind me how many air miles you have, Mum."

The millennial obsession with the green fruit has even led to a term, “avocado anxiety” – worrying about the fruit being either too hard or overripe – coming top in a study of what the generation fear the most. It is little wonder that Gen Z respond mockingly: they only have the prospect of graduating into a recession to worry about, after all.

Coffee

The same goes for coffee, apparently. One viral Gen Z TikToker mocked the phrase: “Don't talk to me before my morning coffee!” It's true that Gen Z like a caffeinated beverage too, but the difference is that they don't talk about it all the time.

An obsession with Harry Potter

Boomers might have nostalgic memories of reading the books to their children they you were younger, but the younger generation think that millennials should have grown out of their wizarding phase by now. Conversations about what house they would be in (as one TikTok user mocks: “I’m a Slytherin because I’m edgy”) should be strictly reserved for those under 10-years-old. And no, it’s not OK to get drunk and recite Latin spells.

The same goes for basically all Disney films.


Calling their dogs “doggo”

A sure sign that you have a millennial on your hands – and a habit that Gen Z find particularly irritating. One TikToker captions her video: “why do millenials [sic] love to anthropromorphize their dogs and say things (as their dogs like): 'I'm so hecking hungry.'”

No, we don't have the answer either.

Overuse of the phrase “adulting”

“Like today I put a wash on, fed my cat and paid my council tax. Ugh, why did no one tell me that adulting is just like, so hard?”

If you ever a hear a sentence like that, then you can bet you're in close range of a millennial. Adulting refers to a range of activities: changing a lightbulb, baking a cake, cleaning a bathtub, and, of course, managing a relationship. Growing a plant, and thinking “wow, I didn’t kill it” is another, apparently.

Given that Gen Z are factually younger, we can't guarantee they're any better at “adulting”. But nor, evidently, do they openly whinge about it.

Side partings

Even the timeless hairstyle has fallen victim to generational warfare. While a millennial's hairdresser might have reassured them that a side parting frames their oval face, or brings out the best in their eyes, according to Gen Z it makes them look frankly ancient (don't squirm). Last summer, this became enshrined in TikTok lore, when #MiddlePartChallenge swept the platform, aiming to prove that anyone with a side part looks better once it's centred.

But millennials are fighting back....

#MillennialsofTikTok has 4.3bn views, while #oldermillennial (yes, that is a thing) has 101.9k views. One user posted a video of a deadpan defence of the face, accompanied by #freethelaughingcryingemoji: “I just want to be able to use whatever emojis I want when I’m texting. I already have trouble keeping up with the other trends and it’s just like, stressing me out,” she drawls.

Other millennials reference the fact that Gen Z once encouraged each other to eat Tide Pods (laundry detergent) as part of a viral challenge and that younger people lack the ability to write in cursive. Burn.

Perhaps the last word in all this should go to the millennial social media user, who responded to the Gen Z upstarts with a two-word put down for the generations: “OK, Zoomers.” One things for sure: their time will come.

Are you going to keep up with the trends? Or are you joining the #freethelaughingcryingemoji movement? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.