Face With Tears of Joy

A yellow face emoji with a wide open-mouth smile, tightly closed eyes, and streams of tears coming from both eyes.

The Face With Tears of Joy emoji is one of the most widely recognized and frequently used emojis across digital platforms. It symbolizes uncontrollable laughter, something hilariously funny, or being so amused that you’re crying from laughing.

This emoji is typically used to:

• React to funny messages, jokes, or memes
• Express laughter in group chats, comment sections, or social media replies
• Show that something is ridiculously funny or absurd

It’s often seen in casual digital conversations and is especially popular in lighthearted or playful online communities.

Millennial vs. Gen Z Usage

Millennials frequently use the Face With Tears of Joy emoji as a go-to symbol for genuine, loud laughter. It has long been considered the default “laughing emoji.”

Gen Z, however, may see it as outdated or “cringe.” Instead, they often use alternatives like the Loudly Crying Face emoji (😭) for dramatic or exaggerated laughter, or the Skull emoji (💀) to signify “dead from laughing”.

Due to this shift, the 😂 emoji has taken on a slightly more ironic or out-of-touch connotation in younger circles, even as it remains widely understood and functional across age groups.