Bad news, Gen Xers. Your emoji is cringe
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Many emoji start in online subcultures, where meme creators try to be cutting edge.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Eve Washington, Larry Buchanan and Claire Cain Miller
- The loudly crying face emoji became the most popular in 2025, overtaking older favourites as young people seek fresher ways to express emotions.
- Teenagers and younger generations drive emoji trends, often using different symbols like skull, wilted flower and moai to communicate feelings and humour.
- Emoji usage reflects social groups and online cultures, with stickers growing as a personalised alternative, while older generations stick to classic emoji like thumbs-up.
AI generated
NEW YORK – The most popular emoji worldwide in 2025 was loudly crying face, according to new usage data from Google. It has become an all-purpose emoji deployed when something is so funny, emotional or embarrassing, you could cry.
Loudly crying face reached the top by leapfrogging rolling on the floor laughing, face with tears of joy and red heart. A big reason: Young people decided the other emoji were overused, according to linguists and a New York Times analysis of Reddit posts.