Festival Emoji Semiotics: Age-Based Variations in WeChat Moments

Authors

  • Sining Lu

    School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China
  • Qian Wang

    School of Foreign Studies, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710129, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.12142
Received: 17 September 2025 | Revised: 28 October 2025 | Accepted: 29 October 2025 | Published Online: 13 November 2025

Abstract

Emojis in contemporary digital communication extend beyond affective cues to index intergenerational identities and social behaviors. Focusing on WeChat Moments, this study investigates generational differences in emoji use during festive interactions. We adopt a mixed-methods design: quantitative analysis of 1500 posts and in-depth interviews with 15 users aged 20–50. The analysis is grounded in Systemic Functional Linguistics and Multimodal Discourse Analysis, framed by the Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants perspective and informed by Communication Accommodation Theory, Diffusion of Innovations, and Cultural Dimensions Theory. We identify three semantic dimensions—usage patterns, interpretative cognition, and symbolic life cycle. Results show statistically significant age-based differences in frequency, category preferences, and combinatory styles. Interviews reveal systematic cognitive gaps: younger users frequently deploy ironic and playful stances through emojis, whereas older users interpret forms more literally and prefer conventional combinations. We further validate a three-phase Symbol Lifecycle Model using structural equation modeling, delineating an emotion-driven stage (20–30 years), a norm-sensitive stage (31–40 years), and a culture-identified stage (41–50 years) of emoji adoption. The study demonstrates how an integrated, multimodal approach can capture subtle sociolinguistic dynamics shaped by platform affordances and cohered socialization. Practically, the findings inform age-inclusive emoji design, platform communication guidelines, and initiatives that mitigate intergenerational misinterpretation. The proposed framework provides a scalable basis for future cross-cultural and cross-generational research on digital semiotics.

Keywords:

Socio-Semiotics; Emojis; Generational Variation; WeChat Moments; Multimodal Discourse Analysis

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How to Cite

Lu, S., & Wang, Q. (2025). Festival Emoji Semiotics: Age-Based Variations in WeChat Moments. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(12), 1049–1066. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i12.12142

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 12 (December 2025): In progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Sining Lu, Qian Wang

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.