LOL is dead – Here‘s how Gen Z expresses laughter online instead

If you grew up flooding chat rooms with "LOL" and keyboard smashing to laugh online, you can officially hand in your millennial card. Gen Z is reinventing the rules for expressing amusement digitally, bidding farewell to tired "LOL"s and embracing new lingo.

As a millennial myself, I was fluent in typing "haha", "LOL", and the occasional "ROFL" to signal my hysterics online. But when I peek over my younger sister‘s shoulder at her rapid-fire text messages with friends, it‘s like deciphering a foreign language. The LOLs that punctuated my own digital convos are nowhere to be found in hers.

So how is Gen Z communicating their laughter and delight online these days? I decided to do some digging into the generational shift. Here‘s what I uncovered.

TheEvolution of LOL 😂

Let‘s start with a quick history lesson. The original "LOL" acronym stands for "laughing out loud" and traces back to the early 1980s. It became a hallmark of millennial internet lingo in the 1990s/2000s as we flocked to AOL chat rooms and MSN messenger to make friends.

Typing "LOL" let us easily convey laughter while socializing online. It was simple, ubiquitous, and universally understood as an indicator of "hey, I find that funny!"

But its popularity has steadily declined with younger generations. According to a 2016 study by Facebook, the use of "LOL" has plummeted over time while other expressions like actual laughing sounds ("haha", "hehe") have risen.

Today, LOL stands at just 1.9% usage on Facebook. Gen Z hardly LOLs at all.

So what are they using instead?

Skull Emoji 💀 = Peak Gen Z Laughter

Enter the skull emoji 💀, which has emerged as the symbol for conveying intense hilarity among Gen Zers online.

Originally added to the Unicode standard for emojis in 2015, the skull was initially used in a cheeky, lighthearted way by millennials. It expressed goofy exhaustion more than anything.

But according to Urban Dictionary, Gen Z has claimed the skull as their own laughter emoji – used to signal "laughing to the point of death."

When a Gen Zer comments "I‘m dead 💀" on a funny TikTok or meme, they‘re expressing they find it so hysterical, they‘re metaphorically dying of laughter. The skull emoji represents the imagined tombstone in this hyperbolic reaction.

How Gen Z Uses Emojis vs. Millennials

Gen Z‘s co-opting of the skull as a laughter symbol reflects their generational preference for emojis over text expressions.

Multiple studies confirm that Gen Z uses emojis at a significantly higher frequency than millennials or Gen Xers. A 2016 study by HighSpeedInternet.com revealed some striking data:

And Gen Z doesn‘t just use more emojis – they often use them differently than older groups.

Beyond the skull, crying laughing face 😂, loudly crying face 😭, and rolling on the floor laughing 🤣 emojis are also go-to choices for Gen Z to express cracking up.

What do all these emojis have in common? They convey extreme, exaggerated reactions – more so than a simple "LOL." They help Gen Z instantly communicate their degree of hilarity.

Gen Z Slang for Laughter – "I‘m Deceased"

In addition to emojis, Gen Z has also popularized their own unique slang terms and phrases to signal laughter digitally.

"I‘m dead" or "I‘m deceased" is a prime example. It‘s the verbal version of the skull emoji, saying you‘re laughing so hard, you‘re dead.

Other similar Gen Z phrases and their meanings:

• I‘m screaming – I‘m laughing really hard
• I‘m weak – I can‘t stop laughing
• Destroyed – Devastated or humiliated in a funny way
• Slayed – Killed it or did really well (can be funny or impressive)

What do all these terms have in common? Dramatic, extreme language to get across "This is hilarious!" Where millenials might‘ve simply said LOL, Gen Z goes for hyperbole – another sign of their preference for exaggerated reactions over chill acronyms.

Why Gen Z is Redefining Online Laughter

Every generation expands the language of the internet as they come of age online. Millennials introduced emojis and popularized text abbreviations into the mainstream.

Now Gen Z is reinventing the lingo and shorthand for digital communication on platforms they grew up on, like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok.

There are a few possible factors driving Gen Z‘s shift:

Conveying Tone

Shorthands like LOL have limited ability to convey the extent of someone‘s reaction. Emojis and exaggerated slang help better communicate the degree of hilarity.

Standing Out

Using original slang and emojis helps Gen Z differentiate themselves from older groups online. Developing their own lingo is part of forming a unique generational identity.

Filling an Emotional Void

Without facial cues and body language available online, emojis help fill that void and act as visual aids for real laughter. They better approximate in-person interactions.

Meme Culture

The hyperbolic language of memes has bled over into Gen Z‘s communication style. Absurdist humor leads to exaggerated phrases like "I‘m deceased."

Texting vs. Messaging

LOL made sense on limited keyboards. But with smart phones, Gen Zers are communicating in real conversational language via messaging, so LOL feels outdated.

The Evolution Continues…

Language is constantly evolving. With Gen Z reinventing so much of digital communication, it will be fascinating to see what laughter lingo Generation Alpha adopts next!

Will emojis become passé to them too? I can‘t wait for my future kids to roast me for using old-fashioned skull and cry-laughing emoji in my ancient millennial internet dialect. 💀😂

The internet generation gap continues, but at least now we can understand each other across platforms when joking around thanks to the universal language of humor. LOL may be retired, but Gen Z is proof that laughter online endures, just with a new lexicon.