Reddit Users Attempt to Cancel the Thumbs-Up Emoji Citing the Gesture as ‘Hostile’ and ‘Unsettling’

(Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)

It appears nothing is immune to cancel culture, not even emojis. Now, Reddit users have targeted one of the most popular emojis, the thumbs-up symbol, as potentially “hostile.”

A post from Reddit user u/Dry_Interaction6220 is going viral this week, despite being posted 10 months ago in regards to emoji etiquette.

Posted to the thread r/Adulting, the message laments the use of emojis as a means of communication.

“I started an ‘adult’ job where we use Microsoft Teams to connect with each other for work. Currently, there only a few emojis you can use to react to a message (unless of course, you respond, and can use any emoji),” they wrote.

“Most people at work use the ‘thumbs up’ reaction all the time. I don’t use it much. I either ‘heart’ reactions or reply even if it’s a short “Great!” or “Thanks!”… Anyway, I think it’s normal — to ‘thumbs up’ messages, but I still feel like it’s such an unsettling response. Does anyone else feel this way?” they asked.

The comment board quickly lit up and more comments made over the last few days have now been removed by the moderator of the page.

“That’s really interesting… it really didn’t occur to me it could be taken that way,” one user wrote.

“If you feel comfortable using a heart emoji, I am so confused by why you hesitate using the thumbs up,” another person said.

But then, some users appeared to agree with the original poster, saying they too wish society could move away from using the gesture.

“I understand what you mean, my last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send info to each other on and most of the people on there just replied with a 👍 I don’t know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me, like an acknowledgment but kind of saying ‘I don’t really care/am not interested’?” user SasiBan wrote.

Another person agreed, saying, “I feel the same way! We even have a sort of social platform/yammer and I can’t only like a post. I lead by feelings though so it may be because of that… I get mad seeing thumbs ups lol it’s pretty bad.”

Others added that the gesture could be seen as passive-aggressive.

“It’s not that odd to see it as passive-aggressive. Just imagine how would it feel to go into your boss’ room, say something, and then see him turn to you, look you in the eye, and go “👍”,” they wrote.

Another user notated that a simple thumbs-up was a sign of approval.

“Its just a way to say “I’ve read your message and have nothing (sic) add and i hope and pray… all the bazillion people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too,” someone added.

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