Endangered emojis: What’s in and what’s out

August 1, 2024

By Kim Komando

How about something light and fun today? We’ve come a long way from :-) and :-( to express ourselves in texts, emails and other written forms of communication. And more than 10 years since we got lots of the emojis we still use today, some of your faves might be totally out of fashion.

Does sending the peace sign make you look lame? ✌️ Is the thumbs-up played out? New data on emoji usage just dropped and I’m spilling the tea. ☕

Endangered species

Subscription design service Superside analyzed the usage and search volume of the top 100 emojis worldwide. Here are the 14 most endangered emojis (aka those losing popularity), in order of endangerment:

👌 😳 🙌 🙈 ✌️ 💁🏻‍♀️ 😏 💕 💘 😎 😱 😜 😞 😄

• In both the U.S. and the U.K., the smirking face 😏 is the most endangered overall. Makes sense — it looks a little creepy.
• In France and Germany, the “face screaming in fear” emoji 😱 is out.
• In Thailand, the “OK hand” emoji 👌 is a relic.

Text in the city

They even go by city. The “OK hand” emoji 👌 is the least popular in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Miami and Oakland. Noted.

In El Paso, Texas, the “flushed face” emoji 😳 is the least popular. The “smiling face with open mouth and smiling eyes” emoji 😄 is the most popular there, though, making it an outlier compared to other cities on the list. I kinda like it! Looks like a real smile.

What’s the most endangered emoji in almost every city? The “information desk person” 💁, which most folks use to mimic a hair flip when they’re feeling a little sassy.

Elevate your emoji game

If you’re thinking, “Oh, no, I use all of those!” I’m not judging … but your kids might be.

Here’s a cheat sheet of outdated emojis and some alternatives that’ll make you look “with” it:

• Leave the thumbs-up 👍 and go with the 💯 instead. It’s like saying you agree 100%. I use it all the time.
• When someone asks you for something, go with a salute 🫡 instead of the ol’ OK 👌. It’s super cute and way more official-looking!
• Feeling embarrassed or surprised? Trade the flushed face 😳 for a 🥴. You could also go with 🫣 when you’re afraid to look at something but you totally want to.
• I see you smirking over there 😏. Bring your sly smile up to date with this guy: 🤭.
• Swap out 💁🏻‍♀️ for a real shoulder shrug 🤷🏻.
• Hands up if you celebrate with 🙌! A less played-out way to show excitement is this emoji: 🥳.
• I swapped out the default red heart ❤️ with heart hands 🫶.

PSA: This emoji is a salad: 🥗. Barry texted it to over 100 people last December, thinking it was a Christmas wreath. I laughed so hard. If you’re ever unsure of the meaning of an emoji, check this site.

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