Sending a thumbs-up (竖起拇指) can be seen as passive aggressive, according to Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2009) who say they feel attacked whenever it is used. Whether the chat is informal, between friends or at work the symbol appears to have a very different, ‘rude' meaning for the younger generation.

A 24-year-old on Reddit summed up the Gen Z. argument, saying it is best ‘never used in any situation' as it is ‘hurtful". "No one of my age in the office does it, but the Gen X (those born between 1966 and 1980) people always do it. Take me a bit to adjust and get it out of my head that it means they're mad at me," he added. Other young people agreed it is bad form, especially at work where it can make the team appear unfriendly and not easygoing.

"My last workplace had a WhatsApp chat for our team to send information to each other on, and most of the people on there just replied with a thumbs up. I don't know why but it seemed a little bit hostile to me," one woman said. One Reddit user also said the thumbs up actually means that "I've read your message and have nothing to add and I hope and pray… all the people in this group chat have nothing to say on it too."

Older workers appear confused by the reaction, saying they use the thumbs up in work-related chats to show "I agree" or "I understood and will follow."

Part of the issue is that young people tend to use the thumbs-up in jokes. Barry Kennedy, 24, he said he only used it to communicate with older people like his parents or older colleagues. A survey of 2,000 people conducted by Perspectus Global showed that a majority of people between the ages of 16 and 29 believe that you are "officially old"if you use thumbs-up or heart emoji.