Gen Xers and Boomers Are Most Confused By These Emojis

A new study found that older generations use fewer emojis and feel less comfortable using them correctly…

The Ottawa team investigated eight emojis in particular- three focused on happiness, two on sadness, two on surprise, and one on anger…240 adults were shown the random emojis...

The study revealed that the most difficult emoji for older adults to interpret was the surprised “wide eyes” emoji, a yellow blushing face looking speechless with its eyes wide open and eyebrows raised.

More shockingly, the second most difficult category was happiness (the “grinning face,” “grinning face with smiling eyes,” and “smiling face with smiling eyes” were included).

The team believes it’s important to promote the use of emojis for older adults because of their ability to facilitate intergenerational interactions.

The hope is that emojis reduce loneliness and help users of all ages fulfill their social and emotional goals.