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India Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India Today
Are you victim of 'emoji bullying'? Inside gen z's hidden language of harm
Once playful and innocent, emojis have become the visual shorthand of the digital era, used in billions of online conversations each day. But behind their cheerful colours and cartoon charm lies a troubling trend that's growing rapidly among younger this World Emoji Day, while most celebrate the creativity and connectivity emojis offer, a more uncomfortable reality must be acknowledged: emojis are being used to bully, harass, and isolate, particularly by and against members of Gen NEW LANGUAGE OF SARCASM AND HARMFor many, a smiley face emoji still conveys friendliness. But in Gen Z's digital vernacular, it often means the opposite. An academic study 'Benign or Toxic? Differences in Emoji Interpretation by Gender, Generation, and Emoji Type' by Zhukova & Herring (2024) from Indiana University found that emojis like the smiley face and thumbs-up are often perceived as passive-aggressive or sarcastic by younger users, especially in peer group contrasts sharply with older generations, who typically interpret these emojis as positive or neutral. The loudly crying face is used to show ironic sadness or laughing too hard. The Skull emoji sarcastically used something cringe, dumb or something hilarious."The interpretation of emoji is not fixed," the authors note. "It is highly context-dependent, influenced by age, identity, and platform norms."This creates fertile ground for subtle digital aggression. A bully no longer needs cruel words, just the right combination of emojis sent at the wrong time can deeply undermine someone's HARMLESS BECOMES HARMFULIn Tik-Tok comments, Instagram DMs, and group chats, emojis are being used as visual code -- covert, cutting, and might look like a string of light-hearted symbols could actually signal mockery, toxic bravado, or even threats. Some emojis have taken on especially sinister second lives:The pig-face emoji is often used to insult someone's peach emoji may be used flirtatiously or to make jokes about someone's smiling face can be used sarcastically in tense devil face suggests playful menace or bullying intent. World Emoji Day:A single emoji can carry many meanings depending on tone, timing, and the relationship between the sender and receiver. In certain school-related incidents, students have faced suspension or police enquiry after sending fire, bomb, or gun emojis in ways interpreted as veiled threats even without accompanying visual nature of the message makes it all the more unsettling and, for adults and moderators, harder to from the Cyberbullying Research Centre, a reputable organisation focused on online harassment, confirms that emojis like the 'peach' have increasingly been weaponised in digital bullying, underscoring the need to understand the evolving meanings behind these VOICES: WHAT EMOJIS REALLY MEANadvertisementWhile emoji bullying often hides in plain sight, young users are acutely aware of its impact.'Some random guys would comment on just the peach or eggplant under my photos. Once someone even sent cherries in DMs. They didn't say anything, but it felt creepy -- like they were trying to say something dirty without using words," said Rhea, a 19-year-old experiences like Rhea's reveal how emojis can be used to send veiled, uncomfortable messages that aren't always caught by moderators - but are definitely felt by IT'S HARD TO MODERATEOne reason emoji-based bullying often goes unnoticed is because algorithms and adult supervision miss the context. A single emoji can carry many meanings depending on tone, timing, and the relationship between the sender and systems that scan for hateful words may overlook a sarcastic smile or a teasing peach. Even when flagged, many adults struggle to interpret the underlying tone being context-dependence is exactly what makes emojis so potent and so dangerous in digital bullying. World Emoji Day:Emojis are small, but their meanings and their impact can be huge. advertisementSOLUTIONS: LITERACY OVER CENSORSHIPRather than banning emojis or policing every post, experts recommend building a better understanding of digital visual language, especially among youth and digital literacy that includes emoji pragmatics, how meaning changes across age groups and open dialogue at home and in schools about how emojis are used today, both playfully and moderation tools on social media platforms to recognise harmful emoji patterns, repetition, or young users to speak up when subtle harassment occurs. Just because it's wrapped in colourful symbols doesn't mean it's harmless.A CALL TO REFLECT THIS EMOJI DAYEmojis are small, but their meanings and their impact can be we celebrate the joy and connection emojis can bring, we must also be aware of their evolving use as weapons of exclusion, sarcasm, and this World Emoji Day, let's reflect not just on how we express ourselves, but on how we make others feel, especially when hurt comes with a smiling by Yashika Pawar- Ends
New York Post
10-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Dasha Zhukova's new real-estate project aims to redefine ‘state of the art'
Dasha Zhukova has spent her life supporting art — and now she is hoping that life will imitate art. 'Being around thoughtfully curated art enhances your mood, it lowers depression,' she told me. 'There are actual therapeutic benefits.' Zhukova — who is on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Gagosian Gallery, and founded Moscow's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art — has a passion for paintings, sculptures and immersive installations that is far more than just a sophisticated hobby or interest in collecting a pricey asset. 7 Dasha Zhukova is on the board of Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Gagosian Gallery and founded Moscow's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. Neil Rasmus/ And that effusiveness is the impetus for Ray, the real-estate development company she hopes will combat loneliness, foster creativity and make art a central part of residents' lives. 'This is about integrating culture and architecture into our everyday life in a way that fosters community and belonging,' Zhukova, 44, tells me of Ray, which builds out multi-family residential buildings featuring artist studios, exhibition spaces and collections of original art by emerging and renowned talents. 'The community and the connection piece is so important… we're trying to really create a singular shared experience around the arts,' Zhukova said.'There's a growing loneliness epidemic, especially among young people. One of our goals at Ray is to be a place where people can gather … where they can share experiences.' 7 Dasha Zhukova tells NYNext of her vision for Ray: 'This is about integrating culture and architecture into our everyday life in a way that fosters community and belonging.' Neil Rasmus/ To date, Ray (and, by extension, Zhukova) has put up most of the equity for its projects. But as the portfolio grows and starts to stabilize, she may bring in outside investors. Zhukova also purchases or commissions most of the art works and loans them to the buildings. The company, based in New York, often partners with local developers — like LMXD in Harlem, where Ray opened to residents last month — to secure financing, draw architectural plans and oversee permits and construction. The designs are 'a little more bold and daring than other multi-family builders,' Zhukova said, and she stays 'hands-on with programming long after we open so as to ensure that our vision continues to add value over time.' 7 Ray Harlem expanded on the previous site of the National Black Theater and built it out with multi-family residences. Courtesy of Ray Programming at Ray Harlem, which will include gallery exhibitions and artist tutorials, starts later this summer. At Ray Philly, which opened in 2023, the offerings include collage-making and ceramic workshops as well as solo exhibitions for local artists in its gallery space, Studio 105, that is open to the public. 'Raúl Romero: Sound Check,' is on view now. The latter — Ray's first project — opened two years ago in Philadelphia's South Kensington neighborhood, a once industrial area that has seen a vibrant arts scene emerge over the last few years. The building features Rashid Johnson's installations in the lobby and five ground-floor commercial studios that artists and small businesses can lease, as well as one space devoted to an artist-in-residency program. 7 One-quarter of Ray's units are devoted to affordable housing, while the remaining apartments go for market price. Courtesy of Ray Ray's Harlem location was developed in partnership with National Black Theatre (NBT), which owns 27,000 square feet of space in the building for its theater and offices and displays its African art collection throughout Ray. Rental prices are pretty standard for a new development in New York City — studios are $2,700 per month and two bedrooms go for $4,800 — and a quarter of the units are considered affordable housing. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). 7 Ray's spaces are designed to encourage community as well as enjoyment of art, and include libraries and space for art classes. Courtesy of Ray 7 Communal spaces feature creative works by artists who are often local to the area. Courtesy of Ray While Zhukova hopes artists will live there, tenants are also from professions including medicine and law A new location is set to open in Phoenix next year, while one in Nashville is under excavation with a target launch of 2027. Zhukova and her husband, shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, live in Manhattan with their three children. She also has a son and daughter with her ex, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. (Her mother, Yelena, is the wife of Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman Emeritus of Post parent company News Corp.) 7 Zhukova was joined by architect Frida Escobedeo (left) and Sade Lythcott (right), CEO of the National Black Theatre, at a topping-out ceremony for Ray Harlem. Neil Rasmus/ Launching Ray has been an all-consuming project, she said. But she is optimistic it will impact people's lives in a meaningful way — and even compared Ray to a museum you can live in. 'There are many ways to be creative with space,' Zhukova added, 'and I think a residential building can absolutely be that.' Send NYNext a tip: NYNextLydia@
