Last week, a friend sent me a thumbs-up emoji.
That’s it. No words. Just 👍.
For a moment, I froze because somehow, that single yellow thumb carried the emotional temperature of a polite slap. It wasn’t “cool, got it.” It was “okay… whatever.” Funny how that happens. A symbol meant to simplify connection now feels like digital side-eye.
We built an entire emotional language out of tiny faces and symbols, and somewhere along the way, half of them started to age badly. Some feel outdated. Some are overused. A few, just misunderstood. And some, if we’re honest, need to quietly disappear from our keyboards before they embarrass us all.
So, which emoji deserves retirement first?
Let’s talk. Or better yet let’s text about it.
The Thumbs-Up: Corporate Politeness in Disguise
The thumbs-up used to mean approval. Now it’s passive-aggressive in at least three time zones. Especially in group chats. It’s the digital equivalent of saying “noted” in a work email. I’ve sent it myself, usually when I’m too tired to type anything else but deep down, I know it’s cold.
It ends conversations instead of continuing them. It’s an emoji that says stop talking.
And yet, it refuses to die. Every workplace chat app, every parent group, every awkward “sure, okay” reply keeps it alive. Maybe because it’s simple. Maybe because older generations still mean it literally. Or maybe because, in the sea of emojis that scream for attention, the thumbs-up is stoically efficient, just a thumb doing its job.
Still, I vote for retirement. Or at least early semi-retirement. Give it a gold watch and let it rest.
The Crying Laughing Face: Once Beloved, Now Basic
Remember when 😂 was everywhere? Every group chat, every caption, every meme? Around 2017, you couldn’t escape it. It was the universal laugh track of the internet. Then Gen Z came along and declared it “for boomers.”
They replaced it with 💀 (as in “I’m dead”) or 😭 (ironically).
Language evolves fast online. So does irony. What once felt like pure joy now feels dated like replying “LOL” in 2025. It’s not that the crying-laughing emoji did anything wrong. It just got overused into oblivion.
Whenever I type it, I hesitate. It feels like wearing jeans that used to be trendy but no longer fit quite right. I still laugh, but not like that.
Maybe 😂 deserves a respectful send-off not deletion, but distance. A museum piece in the digital Smithsonian.
The Eggplant (and Its Complicated Legacy)
Ah yes. The emoji was never about vegetables. 🍆
It started innocently enough, until the internet did what it does best give everything a double meaning. The eggplant became a punchline, a flirt, a censor-dodger. It got banned on certain platforms for being too suggestive.
And yet, people still use it.
It’s strange how something as harmless as a purple vegetable became a symbol of internet mischief. At this point, it feels tired like a joke that’s been told one too many times.
The eggplant had its moment, but maybe it’s time to pass the mic to subtler symbols. Something that flirts without trying so hard. Like, say, a side-eye emoji. Or just… words.
The Fire Emoji: Too Much of a Good Thing
🔥 used to mean “this is awesome.” A song, an outfit, a selfie drop one fire and you’ve got instant hype. But now? It’s everywhere.
Every comment section is an inferno. Every photo, every dance reel, every mildly decent outfit gets set ablaze.
The fire emoji stopped meaning passion or excitement. It now means “I saw this, I’m too lazy to type.”
We’ve burned through its usefulness. Maybe we should let it cool for a bit to give the sparkle emoji ✨ or clapping hands some space to breathe.
The Monkey Covering Eyes: Peak Emotional Evasion
🙈. Cute, right?
Except, it’s emotional camouflage. The “I didn’t see that” emoji is how we dodge awkwardness, guilt, or embarrassment without saying a word. It’s perfect for flirting or deflecting responsibility. Which, come to think of it, says something about us.
We hide behind digital monkeys instead of being honest. We use 🙈 to make vulnerability look adorable.
And while that’s fine sometimes, who wants to over-explain feelings in DMs? It’s starting to feel like an emotional shorthand that avoids real connection.
Maybe the monkey needs a sabbatical. A little digital therapy.
The Clapping Hands: From Celebration to Sarcasm
👏👏👏 once meant “you did great.” Then came the era of clapback tweets. Suddenly, people started clapping between words to emphasize frustration. “Stop👏doing👏that.”
Now, every time I see it, I can’t tell if someone’s congratulating or correcting me.
It’s wild how tone shifts online. The same symbol can feel encouraging one week, confrontational the next.
The clapping emoji is a victim of cultural remixing. It’s both applause and argument. Both praise and pettiness. And maybe that’s the problem: it tries to do too much.
Sometimes we just need words.
The Red Heart: Overused, Underfelt
❤️ is lovely in theory. But in practice? It’s everywhere. On posts, in comments, in messages that don’t deserve that level of affection.
We hand out hearts like confetti now. Which makes them feel less… heartfelt.
When I send one, I wonder if it still means what it used to. Do I actually love this thing, or am I just trying to fill the silence?
There’s something numbing about digital affection when it’s automatic. Maybe that’s not the heart’s fault. Maybe it’s ours.
Still, I wish we’d slow down before tapping it. Love even online deserves more attention than a reflex tap.
The Folded Hands: The Great Misunderstanding
🙏 is one of the most misunderstood emojis ever created.
Half the internet thinks it means “prayer.” The other half thinks it means “thank you.” Some even use it as a high-five. Depending on context, it can mean all three.
Which, in emoji terms, makes it chaos.
I’ve used it wrong plenty of times. Once, I sent it to a friend thinking I was saying “thanks.” They replied with a long paragraph about hope and healing.
We both laughed later but it reminded me that even small symbols can misfire. Maybe 🙏 doesn’t need retirement, but it could use a translator.
The Peach: A Flirt Too Familiar
Let’s be honest: 🍑 lost its innocence ages ago. It’s no longer a fruit. It’s a butt.
Cute, cheeky, mildly overused.
It lives in the same neighbourhood as the eggplant, but with slightly better PR. It still shows up in gym selfies, thirst traps, and “accidental” posts.
It’s not offensive, just… tired. Like a joke that keeps recycling itself every Valentine’s Day.
Sometimes the sexiest thing is subtlety. Maybe we can leave the peach in the produce aisle for a while.
The Tears Emoji: Crying or Laughing? Or both?
😭 has gone through an identity crisis. Once it meant sadness. Now it means hysterical laughter. Or exaggerated emotion. Or mock despair.
It’s like an actor playing too many roles at once.
I use it too, I’ll admit. Because it’s so expressive. But every time, I wonder if people get what I mean?
Maybe not. Maybe that’s fine. Maybe part of the fun of emojis is their chaos.
But if clarity matters, the crying face might need a break. We’ve overbooked its emotions.
The One That Hurts to Mention: The Winking Face
😉 used to be playful. Flirty. Confidence.
Now it feels… uncomfortable. Maybe because it’s been hijacked by dads in WhatsApp groups and distant colleagues trying to sound casual.
There’s something dated about it, like using “haha” after every text. The wink used to add charm. Now it adds confusion. Or worse, creepiness.
I wish we could reclaim it, but maybe some things just belong to another digital era.
The wink had its time. Let it retire with grace, maybe on a beach somewhere with the thumbs-up.
Why This Matters More Than It Should
If this all sounds ridiculous arguing over emojis you’re not wrong.
But also, you are.
Because emojis aren’t just decoration. They shape how we interpret tone. They carry weight in relationships, at work, in arguments, in apologies.
They fill the gaps words can’t.
When they start losing meaning, it says something about us too. About how fast our language evolves. How quickly sincerity becomes cliché. How digital culture ages in internet years.
We build shared meanings around symbols, and then we outgrow them. That’s normal. That’s language doing what it always does adapting to emotion, technology, and attention span.
So, Which One Goes First?
You tell me.
Maybe it’s the thumbs-up, too blunt for our times.
Or the laughing-crying face, too nostalgic for our feeds.
Maybe it’s the eggplant, finally ready for compost.
Or the wink, which honestly just needs rest.
Whichever you choose, the real question isn’t which emoji dies first, it’s which feeling we’ve stopped expressing honestly.
Because every emoji we retire leaves space for something better.
Something truer.
Something more… human.
And maybe that’s the whole point.
If this made you pause or smile, explore more playful, thought-provoking quizzes on Trendy Quiz because self-discovery should always feel fun.
