Study reveals top cause of autistic anxiety spirals is thumbs-up emoji
Added 2024-11-15 11:00:04 +0000 UTC
Piece by Sara Gibbs, Image Shutterstock
The number one cause of autistic people quietly losing their shit is the thumbs-up emoji, a study has revealed.
The paper, published this week, concluded that the emoji, which ostensibly serves the purpose of demonstrating that a message has been received, is tonally ambiguous enough to send the entire autistic population into what scientists are calling an anxiety shitstorm.
Researcher Dr. Graeme Hart explained: “To most people, the thumbs-up emoji is a simple signifier to say, ‘noted, thanks’. But we found that when it was applied to autistic subjects, an entire dissertation worth of hidden meaning could be inferred.”
Test subject Kit McGodden, 44, said: “Why a thumbs up instead of, say, a heart? Is Becky pissed off with me? Is this because I tagged that picture of her where she thought she looked like a giant fluke worm?”
Fellow participant, Siobhan Moorton agreed: “So, like, should I go ahead and book those Paris Paloma tickets? Use your words!”
Dr. Hart rounded off his findings by urging tech companies to be more considerate of neurodivergent users: “At least give the thumbs-up emoji a smiling little face.”
