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I have always been slow to adapt. I have an inbuilt distrust of anything new... Social media has been around awhile now, but I have only dabbled with it on and off. However, now I have a friend who would like to stay in touch through social media and texting, so I'm learning the things people my age practically grew up with. :\

I have texted for awhile, but the use of emoticons and emojis is something I generally avoided until my friend began using them to message me. As I believe is common, we developed our own ways of indicating the end of our conversations. Between us, it tends to be a thumbs up, 'sounds good' or 'ok'.

But recently, and which is what I'm asking about, my friend suddenly started mixing things up on me and I'm not sure if it still means "I'm done talking now" or what....

Rather than just a thumbs up, he now often texts me a thumbs up followed next by a hand making the peace 'V' sign. It still seems to mean the conversation is done, but why the change?

Should I take it to mean: 1) He considers me a closer friend than before? 2) That I'm annoying him. Or 3) He's just bored of using the same three sign-offs we were using?

I'm guessing it's the second, because he seems to use it most when he's busy with something. But maybe I'm reading too much into it.

How can I figure out how to interpret this "new" (to me) emoji?

More Info: I guess it's worth mentioning that he is not from a culture where the V sign is offensive.

SQB
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Tagger
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    I'm not sure if guessing what someone else's emojis mean will be all that productive here, have you considered simply asking your friend? Also, I think the V sign you're referring to, might be what people in the US call a "peace sign" which may answer your question. – apaul Oct 05 '17 at 00:58
  • This might be a helpful resource: https://emojipedia.org/victory-hand/ – apaul Oct 05 '17 at 01:02
  • I've heard some explain that the V sign means 'Love and peace'. But how would a thumbs up added to it alter the meaning? – Tagger Oct 05 '17 at 01:04
  • What is your age range? – Catija Oct 05 '17 at 01:06
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    The best I can do is guess, but possibly thumbs up means something like "I understand/approve" followed by a peace sign it would possibly be "I understand, peace out" But like I said, I'm just guessing, probably best to ask your friend. – apaul Oct 05 '17 at 01:08
  • Age of friend is 40. I'm 24. I'm from the US and he's from Belize. We're somewhat unlikely friends... – Tagger Oct 05 '17 at 01:10
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    Sorry, but I don't think we can help you on this. The one that understand the meaning of those signs is your friend. Folks trying to answer your question will absolutely have to *guess*, which likely will not be useful to you, or others. – Vylix Oct 05 '17 at 04:58
  • Thanks everyone! I wasn't sure if this was something others might use frequently and might be able to shed more light on the meaning. I think you're probably correct that it simply means something like 'peace out' or 'Ok. I get it'. – Tagger Oct 05 '17 at 11:11
  • Even if you know what's generally meant by a (combination of) emoji, some people have their own unique interpretations of what an emoji means, so the only way to be sure what they are trying to convey is to ask them...For example, I personally think the 'prayer' emoji looks similar enough to a high-five that I use it for that purpose with one of my friends. – Cronax Oct 05 '17 at 12:58
  • I guess this is subjective, after all. As someone still fairly new to it all, I thought perhaps there was a more concrete answer. Feel free to delete this question if you like, moderators. But thanks to you all for you answers and suggestions! I think I'll just bring it up in a real face-to-face conversation sometime. – Tagger Oct 06 '17 at 01:32

1 Answers1

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As always, the context provides the key.

The two fingers mean different things, depending on which way around the hand is and the context in which it's used.

Palm outwards, and it means "Peace"

Palm inwards, it means "Screw you" (or words to that effect).

I really doubt that the second meaning has an actual official emoji, since there's an official "peace" emoji and the opposing form would be confusingly similar.

So, in this instance, assume the positive meaning.

Peace out, man.

  • As I mentioned, the offensive meaning isn't the case here, I'm sure (I hope!). Do you have thoughts about a thumbs up in front of it? How should I read that all together? – Tagger Oct 05 '17 at 11:12
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    General positivity - what do you convey when you're smiling at someone and give them a "thumbs up" sign? It's the same here. As implied by the name, emoji are there to generrally convey emotions, although they can also be used as shorthand if you wanted to. –  Oct 05 '17 at 11:15