You know the one. It’s got those giant blue tears welling up, a mouth hanging wide open in a permanent state of hysteria, and eyebrows tilted in that specific way that says, "I am physically losing it right now." It's officially called the "Face with Tears of Joy" emoji, but to most of us, it’s just the cry laugh emoji meme.
It’s everywhere. Honestly, it’s probably in your "frequently used" tray right now, sitting right next to the skull emoji or the sparkling heart. But here is the thing: this little yellow circle is the most polarizing piece of digital real estate in the history of the internet. One generation treats it like the holy grail of punchlines. Another looks at it and sees the digital equivalent of a "Live, Laugh, Love" sign hanging in a kitchen. It’s a cultural dividing line drawn in 20-pixel strokes.
The cry laugh emoji meme isn't just a way to say something is funny anymore. It has evolved into a weapon of irony, a badge of "mom-tier" humor, and occasionally, a genuine expression of joy that feels increasingly rare in the cynical corners of the web.
The Day the Laughing Face Became a Legend
Back in 2015, Oxford Languages did something that felt pretty weird at the time. They named the Face with Tears of Joy as their "Word of the Year." Not a word. An emoji. They noted that it was the most used emoji globally that year, making up roughly 20% of all emoji use in the UK and 17% in the US. It was the peak of its power.
People weren't just using it; they were obsessed. It was the era of the "Who did this?" captions on Facebook and Instagram. You’d see a video of someone falling over, and it would be framed by a thick white border with ten cry-laughing faces plastered across the top. It became the visual shorthand for "this is viral content."
But popularity always comes with a price tag. When something becomes that universal, it starts to lose its edge. By the time 2020 rolled around, the cry laugh emoji meme had transitioned from "cool new way to express humor" to "the thing your aunt sends after a minion joke." It became a victim of its own success.
The Great Generative Divide: Gen Z vs. Millennials
If you want to start a fight on TikTok, just use this emoji unironically. To a lot of Gen Z users, the cry-laughing face is "cringe." There is no other word for it. They’ve swapped it out for the skull emoji ($💀$)—as in "I’m dead"—or the loud crying face ($😭$) to signal that something is so funny it’s actually painful.
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Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, has spoken about this shift before. He noted that younger users tend to move away from things once they feel "mainstream" or "corporate." When brands started using the cry laugh emoji meme to sell insurance or fast food, the cool factor evaporated instantly.
Millennials, however, are holding the line. For many people over 30, it’s a hard habit to break. It feels safe. It’s the "LOL" of the 2020s. Using a skull emoji feels like trying too hard to stay young, while the cry-laughing face feels like home. This friction is exactly why the meme persists. It’s a way to signal which "tribe" you belong to without saying a single word.
Why We Still Can’t Stop Using It
There’s a psychological reason why this specific image stuck. Humans are wired to mirror emotions. When we see a face that is clearly experiencing an extreme peak of emotion—even a yellow, cartoonish one—it triggers a more visceral response than a simple "haha."
The cry laugh emoji meme captures a very specific human experience: the point where laughter becomes involuntary. It’s that moment where you can’t breathe, your ribs hurt, and your eyes start leaking. It’s an "extreme" emoji. In a digital world where everything is hyperbolic, "haha" isn't enough. We feel like we have to prove how much we are laughing.
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- It’s a Social Lubricant: It softens blows. If you send a slightly mean joke but add the emoji, you’re signaling "I’m just kidding."
- It’s a Space Filler: When you don't know what else to say to a text, it’s the ultimate "seen and acknowledged" button.
- It’s Low Effort: It conveys a complex physical reaction with one tap.
The Irony Layer: Using It "Wrong" on Purpose
The most interesting phase of the cry laugh emoji meme is the "post-ironic" phase. This is where people use it precisely because it is dated or "uncool." You’ll see it used in deep-fried memes—images that have been compressed and filtered so many times they look like they’ve been through a literal fryer.
In these circles, the emoji is used to mock the very idea of "normie" humor. It’s often paired with sarcastic captions or used to react to things that aren't funny at all. This "ironic" usage has given the emoji a second life. It’s no longer just a face; it’s a commentary on how we communicate online. It’s a bit like wearing a fanny pack. Ten years ago, it was a fashion disaster. Today, it’s a statement.
The Technical Side of the Teardrops
Every platform renders this face slightly differently, which actually changes the "vibe" of the meme. Apple’s version is the gold standard—clean, bright, and very expressive. Samsung’s version used to look a bit more frantic. Google’s "blob" era version had a strange, gelatinous charm that some people still miss.
These subtle design choices matter. A cry laugh emoji meme sent from an iPhone might look like genuine joy, but on a different device, those tears might look a little more like a cry for help.
How to Use It Without Being "Cringe"
If you’re worried about your digital reputation, there are ways to navigate the cry-laughing landscape. It’s all about context. If you’re texting your boss, it’s probably fine (if you have that kind of relationship). If you’re posting on a platform like Discord or Twitter, you might want to read the room.
- The Single Use: One emoji is usually fine. It’s the string of five or more that starts to look like a Facebook post from 2014.
- Mix It Up: Pair it with other emojis to take the edge off. A cry-laughing face followed by a fire emoji or a clap emoji feels slightly more modern.
- Know Your Audience: Your college friends and your grandmother require different vocabularies. The cry laugh emoji is the "khaki pants" of the digital world—it works almost anywhere, but it’s never going to be "high fashion."
Moving Beyond the Yellow Face
We are seeing a shift toward "custom" expressions. Stickers, GIFs, and reactions are starting to replace the standard emoji set. When you can send a GIF of a specific comedian laughing, why settle for a generic yellow circle?
Yet, the cry laugh emoji meme remains the baseline. It’s the fundamental particle of digital humor. Even if we move on to new symbols, the "Face with Tears of Joy" will always be the ancestor that paved the way for how we express hysterics in the palm of our hand.
Practical Steps for Navigating Emoji Trends
If you want to keep your digital communication fresh, don't just rely on the classics. Try these shifts:
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- Observe the "Skull" Shift: Next time you find something truly hilarious in a group chat with younger people, try the $💀$ or $😭$ instead. See how the energy changes.
- Audit Your "Frequently Used": Look at your top ten emojis. If the cry-laughing face is #1 and has been for five years, it might be time to branch out into more specific icons like the "anguished face" or the "nail polish" emoji for sass.
- Use Reaction Features: Instead of sending an emoji as a message, use the built-in "reactions" on apps like iMessage or WhatsApp. It feels less intrusive and more like a quick nod of agreement.
The cry laugh emoji meme isn't going anywhere. It’s baked into the Unicode standard and our collective muscle memory. Whether you love it, hate it, or use it with five layers of irony, it remains the ultimate shorthand for the fact that, despite everything, we still find plenty of things worth losing our breath over.