You know the one. It’s got those massive, shimmering pupils. It’s the face with pleading eyes emoji, often colloquially called the "puppy dog eyes" or the "tears in eyes emoji." For a few years, it was everywhere. It was the go-to for when you wanted to ask for a favor or when you saw a video of a golden retriever puppy falling asleep in a bowl of kibble.
But things changed. Fast.
Digital communication moves at a speed that makes traditional linguistics look like it's stuck in the mud. According to Emojipedia, this specific glyph—officially approved as part of Unicode 11.0 in 2018—quickly climbed the ranks to become one of the top three most used emojis on Twitter by 2020. Then, the internet did what the internet does. It made it weird.
The Rise and Weird Fall of the Face with Pleading Eyes Emoji
When it first dropped, the intent was pure. It signaled a sense of being "touched" or "humbled" by something. If your best friend sent you a long text about how much they appreciate you, the pleading eyes were the perfect response. It showed a vulnerability that a standard smiley couldn't reach. It was soft.
Then came the "simp" era.
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Online subcultures, particularly on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, began using the face with pleading eyes emoji to signal a desperate, almost pathetic level of yearning. It became the hallmark of the "pick me" energy. Suddenly, using it sincerely felt risky. You didn't want to look like you were begging. You didn't want to look like you were trying too hard to be cute.
Language is fluid, sure, but emoji evolution is chaotic. By 2021, the usage of this specific icon started to shift toward a more ironic or even sexualized context in certain corners of the web. It’s a classic example of "semantic bleaching," where the original meaning of a symbol gets worn away by over-saturation and niche reinterpretation.
It’s Not Just One Emotion
Context is everything. Seriously. If my mom sends me that emoji because she wants me to come over for Sunday dinner, it means she misses me. If a random person on X (formerly Twitter) sends it under a celebrity's selfie, it’s probably "down bad" behavior.
We have to look at the design.
Google’s version of the emoji looks slightly different from Apple’s. On an iPhone, those glossy eyes are peak "puss in boots." On Samsung devices, the expression sometimes leans more toward "I’m about to burst into tears because I’m sad," rather than "I’m cute and I want something." This cross-platform discrepancy matters. You might think you're being adorable, but your friend on an Android might think you're having a genuine emotional breakdown.
Why We Stopped Using It Sincerly
There's a specific fatigue that happens with high-intensity emojis. The face with pleading eyes emoji is high-intensity. It’s not a subtle nod or a gentle grin. It’s an emotional scream.
- Overuse: When everything is "so cute 🥺," nothing is.
- The Gen Z Factor: Younger users started leaning into the "loudly crying face" (😭) for everything—joy, sadness, laughter, thirst. The pleading face started to feel a bit... "millennial cringe."
- Ambiguity: It’s hard to tell if someone is being ironic.
Keith Broni, the Editor-in-Chief of Emojipedia, has often noted that emoji meanings are bottom-up, not top-down. The Unicode Consortium decides what the "face with pleading eyes" looks like technically, but the 14-year-olds on TikTok decide what it means. Right now, they've decided it's a bit much.
Honestly, the shift away from the face with pleading eyes emoji mirrors how we treated the "Face with Tears of Joy" (😂). Once a symbol becomes the most popular thing on the planet, its "cool" factor evaporates. It becomes the "mom" emoji. Once that happens, the subcultures that birthed its popularity move on to something more niche, like the "shrugging person" or the "melting face."
The Psychology of Shimmering Eyes
Why do those big eyes work on us anyway? It’s neoteny. It’s the same reason we think babies and kittens are cute. Big eyes trigger a caregiving response in the human brain. We are biologically wired to want to protect things that look like that.
When you use the face with pleading eyes emoji, you are literally hacking the recipient's brain. You're saying, "I am small and non-threatening. Help me."
But when that hack is used to sell a product or win an argument, we feel manipulated. That’s where the "ick" comes from. We know we’re being played.
Navigating the New Emoji Etiquette
So, can you still use it? Of course. But you’ve got to be smart.
If you’re using it in a professional setting, just stop. Please. It’s rarely, if ever, appropriate to use the face with pleading eyes emoji in a Slack message to your boss unless you have a very specific, very casual relationship. It can come across as manipulative or unprofessional. It's essentially the digital equivalent of pouting in a board meeting.
In friendships, it's safer. But even then, notice the vibe. If your friends are responding with 💀 (the skull emoji, meaning "I'm dead/that's funny") or 😭, your 🥺 might look out of place.
The face with pleading eyes emoji is a tool of intimacy. Use it where intimacy already exists. Don't use it to try and create intimacy where there isn't any. That's the golden rule of modern texting.
What’s Next for the Pleading Face?
We’re seeing a resurgence of "flat" or "low-stakes" emojis. People are moving toward symbols that don't demand as much emotional labor from the viewer. The "slightly smiling face" (🙂) which used to be seen as passive-aggressive, is being reclaimed as a genuine, low-energy "okay."
The face with pleading eyes emoji isn't going to disappear. It’s too baked into the system now. But it is settling into its middle age. It’s no longer the trendy new kid. It’s the reliable, if slightly dramatic, veteran of the keyboard.
Actionable Steps for Better Digital Tone
If you want to make sure your messages aren't being misread, follow these simple pivots.
First, check your platform. If you’re on a work laptop, swap the pleading eyes for a simple "Thank you" or a "thumbs up." It saves everyone the confusion of wondering if you're actually upset.
Second, if you feel the urge to use the face with pleading eyes emoji because you’re asking for something, try being direct instead. Instead of "Can you help me with this? 🥺", try "I'm really struggling with this task, could you spare ten minutes?" It sounds more like an adult and less like a cartoon character.
Third, pay attention to how your inner circle uses it. Mirroring is a natural part of human communication. If they use it to mean "I'm sad," then keep it in that lane. If they use it to mean "that's adorable," follow suit.
Finally, don't be afraid to experiment with newer additions to the Unicode library. The "face holding back tears" emoji (🥹) often carries the "humbled" or "touched" sentiment much more effectively in 2026 than the pleading face does. It feels more grounded and less like a performance.
Digital literacy isn't just about knowing how to type; it's about knowing the weight of the symbols you're dropping into someone else's life. The face with pleading eyes emoji carries a lot of weight. Use it with intention, or don't use it at all.