An emoji has been canceled, or at least young millennials and Gen Zs urge us to stop with the thumbs up. According to the younger generations, this emoticon is "passive-aggressive."

A 24-year-old Redditor sparked the conversation, and many confirmed that this particular emoji makes them feel agitated.

They wrote about the thumbs-up:

"I started an 'adult' job where we use Microsoft Teams to connect with each other for work. No one my age in the office does it, but the Gen X people always do it. Took me a bit to adjust and get (it) out of my head that it means they're mad at me."

They added:

"Currently, there are only a few emojis you can use to react to a message (unless, of course, you respond and can use any emoji). 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!' (I also feel like I use too many exclamation marks, but that's a different story)."

The Redditor wanted to know if someone else found the "thumbs up" responses unsettling.

The answers were polarizing, and from Reddit, the topic soon spread to Twitter and numerous polls.

One person wrote:

"If you feel comfortable using a heart emoji, I am so confused by why you hesitate to use the thumbs up. I used the thumbs up (in my mind 'I agree" or 'ok') way before I used the heart ('love it' or 'feeling the feels'). But that's just me."

Another expressed they feel that the emoji is "super rude." They wrote:

"For younger people (I'm 24 for reference), the thumbs-up emoji is used to be really passive-aggressive. It's super rude if someone just sends you a thumbs-up. So I also had a weird time adjusting because my workplace is the same."

They claim "it's a generational communication culture difference." The 24-year-old added:

"Everyone my age in the office doesn't do it, but the Gen X people always do it. It took me a bit to adjust and get out of my head that it means they're mad at me."

Another one wrote:

"It probably feels unsettling because it's impersonal, and based just off this post, you seem like the kind of person who prefers more genuine interactions with others."

Some were not as sensitive:

"Damn, I'm embarrassed to be Gen-Z. It's just a thumbs-up. Don't search so deep."

If you have doubts, skip this emoji. In a poll conducted in the UK, people aged 16-29 confirmed that "thumps-up" are among the emojis used by "old people."

Other "old people" emojis are poo, checked, the red love heart, the OK hand, and the grimacing face.