Study Finds These Emojis Are Most Confusing for Older Adults

Millennials and Gen Zers are well-versed in the language of emojis. Having grown up with or being early adopters to smartphone technology in their lives, members of these age cohorts are probably likelier to use and understand certain emojis more than their older counterparts. 

A new study published in the Computers in Human Behavior Reports journal supports this idea. Researchers at the University of Ottawa sought to determine the emojis that confuse baby boomers and Gen Xers the most, as well as their usage habits of the digital emoticons. 

The team surveyed 240 adults between the ages of 18 and 80 and observed their reactions to various emojis shown in a random order. Participants rated how well each emoji conveyed each respective emotion, while the scientists broke down emoji frequency, diversity, ease of interpretation, and interpretation accuracy to determine how age can influence emoji use. The study is touted as the first of its kind to look into emoji use across generations including adults over 60. 

The researchers chose eight emojis for all the participants to decipher; three dealt with happiness, two associated with sadness, two with surprise, and one with anger. The hardest emoji for boomers and Gen Xers to decipher was the surprised "flushed face" emoji, consisting of a shocked visage with its eyes wide open and eyebrows raised (????). The older adults struggled the second-most with understanding happiness emojis—in this case, the "grinning face (????)" emoji, the "grinning face with smiling eyes (????)," and "smiling face with smiling eyes (????)."

"We found that older users are less likely to use emojis, use fewer emojis, and feel less comfortable in their ability to interpret emojis,” study lead author Isabelle Boutet said in a statement. "This pattern of results leads us to conclude that older users have the motivation and ability to utilize emojis, but they lack the confidence and general technology expertise needed to adapt to this mode of communication."

Related: New Study Has Bad News About Smartphones and Kids' Test Scores

The team hopes that emoji use among older adults can help reduce loneliness and even floated the possibility of designing a simplified emoji collection for them to use. 

"Software developers could consider modifying existing emoji menus to facilitate their use across generations by, for example, making unambiguous emojis which older users are able to interpret more easily," Boutet said. "Training interventions should also be incorporated into existing community-based programs to help older users to incorporate emojis in their online interactions."

Though some older adults may struggle with interpreting emojis, it might be an easier way to communicate with your parents than using texting acronyms.