Why Older Adults Use Emojis More Than Younger People
At 7:12 a.m., a single red heart appeared in the family group chat. There were no words, but it was easy to tell who had sent it.
It was the sender’s 63-year-old mother, responding to her daughter’s message that she had left for work.
But her younger son paused when he saw the heart. Did it mean she was genuinely pleased, or was she signaling that the conversation was over?
Emojis may be small, but different generations can read them as entirely different expressions. The impression that middle-aged and older adults use emojis more often begins with this gap in interpretation.
- The claim that older adults use more is only half true
- When an image helps maintain a relationship instead of replacing words
- Younger and older adults may smile differently
- Character consumption in Korea reflects different memories by age
- The first thing that gets in the way when you build it yourself
- Good emojis guide people without dividing them by generation
- WordPress Plugins
- Frequently asked questions
Let’s start with a surprising fact: research does not consistently show that middle-aged and older adults use emojis more often than younger people.
A 2024 study of WeChat users found that younger people tended to use emojis more frequently and choose from a wider variety. Middle-aged and older users, by contrast, were more likely to repeatedly use images with clear meanings, such as smiling faces, greetings, flowers and scenery.
In everyday life, however, emoji use among older adults often stands out more. They may use larger images in a single message, add several emojis after a sentence, or regularly send illustrated morning greetings and check-ins.
Younger people tend to slip one emoji into a short exchange. Middle-aged and older adults are more likely to combine pictures and animated stickers with messages such as “Good morning,” “Stay healthy” or “Wishing you a happy day.”
If you count usage frequency alone, younger people may come out ahead. But in highly visible spaces such as family group chats and school-reunion groups, the way older adults use emojis tends to leave a stronger impression.
The claim that older adults use more is only half true
For middle-aged and older adults, emojis are less about decoration than checking in. They use pictures to ease the worry that a short text might come across as cold.
A phone call requires the other person to answer immediately. A long message requires time to figure out what to say. A smiling face or waving character, on the other hand, can send the message “I’m doing well” within seconds.
This becomes even more important when family members live far apart. It may be difficult to call every day, but a single illustrated morning greeting can signal that the connection is still there.
A user study published in 2023 also found that older people tended to use emojis not only with close friends but also with people at a greater social distance, such as doctors, workplace supervisors and neighbors. That is because emojis can make a message feel more familiar while also softening its tone.
For example, sending only “Confirmed” can sound stiff. Add a smile or thumbs-up, and it is more likely to be read as “I understand, and there’s no problem.”
That is why emojis used by older adults are less a playful attempt to follow a trend than a tool for maintaining relationships.
When an image helps maintain a relationship instead of replacing words
The reason different generations interpret the same image differently is that they learned to use emojis in different environments.
Middle-aged and older adults generally read emojis at face value. A smiling face means feeling good, while a waving hand means hello or goodbye.
Younger generations, by contrast, tend to look for the mood beneath the image. They may see a smiling face as genuine happiness, but they may also interpret it as awkwardness or sarcasm.
A generational comparison of WeChat users found a similar divide over an image used to say goodbye. Middle-aged and older users understood it as “Take care” or “See you next time,” while younger users sometimes read it as “I have nothing left to say” or “Let’s end this relationship.”
The same divide can arise with Korean character stickers. A crying character may represent genuine sadness to one person and exaggerated humor to another.
Animated stickers are particularly difficult to read. Their expressions and movements change quickly. People who are familiar with them may find that entertaining, while others may need more time to work out what they mean.
That makes clear, straightforward images the safest choice in conversations that span generations. It is best to use visuals for situations everyone can understand, such as congratulations, thanks, confirmation and checking in.
Younger and older adults may smile differently
Emojis and character stickers reveal more than personal taste. They also reflect the era people grew up in and the media they encountered most often.
A 2024 character-use survey published by the Korea Creative Content Agency found clear differences in character preferences by age group. Crayon Shin-chan was highly popular among people in their 30s and younger, while Pororo was the top choice among people in their 40s and 60s.
Kakao Friends ranked highest among people in their 50s. The same character may evoke childhood memories for one person, remind another of content they watched with their children, and be a familiar face first encountered on a smartphone by someone else.
When applying this insight to a WordPress site, it is a mistake to assume that everyone will like it if you simply add an attractive character. The images that feel comfortable vary depending on readers’ ages and their reasons for visiting.
For example, a hospital or social-welfare organization’s website may benefit more from calm instructional illustrations than from rapidly moving characters. On a children’s education site, by contrast, bright colors and larger movements may aid comprehension.
Blogs also need to take the subject matter into account. A waving character may feel natural in a travel piece, but an exaggerated expression could undermine trust in a post about taxes or health.
Character consumption in Korea reflects different memories by age
At first, adding a few character images and buttons may seem like a simple task. In practice, image size, animation, file weight and placement on a phone screen all become issues at once.
Large stickers are easy to notice, but they can interrupt the reading flow. Smaller images take up less of the screen, yet their expressions and lettering may be difficult for older readers to make out.
Animated files are even more complicated. Large files slow page loading, and adding several at once can make scrolling feel sluggish on a phone.
When people handle this themselves, several mistakes are common.
- They fail to explain what an image means, leading different generations to interpret it differently.
- They omit alternative text, so screen readers miss the content.
- They fail to reduce file sizes, slowing the page.
- They use similar colors for the character and background, making the image hard to see.
- They place so many stickers on the page that decoration overwhelms the main text.
The problem is that these issues are connected. Enlarging an image may make it easier to see, but it can also slow the site down. Reducing animation may make the page more stable, but it can also make it less engaging.
Another limitation is that site operators can easily mistake their own preferences for those of their audience. An expression a young operator finds funny may look rude or unsettling to an older reader.
Before adding characters, it is therefore important to find out what actually makes users uncomfortable. Showing the same screen to people of different ages—family members, customers or visitors—and asking what they think it means and how it feels can reveal significant differences.
The first thing that gets in the way when you build it yourself
A site that uses emojis well is not one that fills every page with pictures. It is one that knows when an image should replace words and when it should support them.
First, put important instructions into words. Users should never have to look at a picture alone to figure out a reservation date or how to pay.
Second, make sure the image’s meaning is immediately clear. Start with unmistakable situations such as laughter, thanks, congratulations and caution.
Third, plan for a way to stop animations. Characters that flash continuously can be tiring for some users, so decorative motion should be brief and used sparingly.
Fourth, add a short explanation beside the character. A nodding illustration next to the sentence “Your inquiry has been received” makes the meaning easy to understand regardless of age.
Fifth, monitor how people respond. Do not look only at which images receive the most clicks. Also track whether people read to the end, whether inquiries decrease and how long they remain on the page on mobile devices.
The real meaning behind the claim that older adults use more emojis is not simply a matter of usage volume. It is that they use emojis as signals that maintain relationships and soften the tone of a message.
A morning greeting with a picture may seem unremarkable to one person. But for a family member living far away, it can feel like a small phone call confirming how the other person is doing that day.
On a WordPress site read by multiple generations, a warm signal that everyone can understand will outlast any trendy expression.
Good emojis guide people without dividing them by generation
Q. Do middle-aged and older adults really use emojis more than younger people?
A. Not in every situation. Some studies find that younger people use emojis more frequently and in greater variety, but middle-aged and older adults tend to use them repeatedly and consistently in highly visible situations, such as family group chats and greetings.
Q. Which emojis are safest in conversations that include multiple generations?
A. Choose images with clear meanings, such as laughter, thanks, congratulations, confirmation and greetings. If an expression could suggest sarcasm or the end of a relationship, it is safer to clarify its meaning in words.
Q. What effect can character stickers have in a WordPress post?
A. They can soften the tone of a long article and help readers quickly understand instructions or emotional cues. However, if the decoration is larger than the text or includes too much movement, it can distract from the content.
Q. Can tools easily solve these issues? Which tools should I use?
A. It helps to use tools that reduce image dimensions and file sizes, preview how a page looks on different screen sizes, and check accessibility. But do not rely on a single tool. Show the page to actual users and confirm whether they understand it.
Q. Which character should I choose for my site?
A. Start with your visitors’ ages and the purpose of the site. For health, finance and public-information sites, where trust matters, use simple, calm illustrations. Sites focused on play and education can use brighter, more energetic expressions.
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