Before the rise of modern emojis, early internet users would use emoticons, that is text-based symbols, to create emotions or expressions in digital communication. We’ve all used 😀 and the iconic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ symbols some or the other time. Whether for old-time’s sake or just because no other emoji captures your reaction more at the moment, here’s how to text the shrug emoji easily.
The origin of the emoticon
These rudimentary sets of keyboard characters began in the 1980s. One of the first recorded instances was with the smiley face, `:-)`, which was created by the computer scientist Scott Fahlman back in 1982. It was to help forum readers tell jokes and lighter messages apart from more serious posts. The basic structure used punctuation marks to create faces that could show happiness, sadness, or surprise.
Growing popularity of emoticons
They grew in popularity with the improvement in the standard of chatrooms, e-mails, and early social media. Variants of the smiley face evolved, such as the sad face `:-(`, the winking face `;-)`, and the tongue-out face `:-P`. Other well-known emoticons include `:-D` for laughter and `:-O` for shock or surprise.
Emoticons over the world
Along with the sideways-read Western-style emoticons, Japanese emoticons or kaomoji also gained favor. They could be more elaborate like `(＾_＾)` for happiness or `(T_T)` for crying. Kaomoji tended to be more expressive and hence favored in online communities.
Emoticons to emojis
While modern emojis have largely superseded emoticons in most digital conversations, there is some degree of nostalgic value attached to that simplicity and ingenuity. They pioneered a new way of expressing emotion in the evolving digital world.
What is the shrug text emoji?
The shrug emoji meme often represented as `¯\\_(ツ)_/¯`, became an internet sensation because of its meek, humorous, and all-purpose expression. It can show a lack of knowledge, indifference, or what many simply call a “whatever” attitude. Due to its origin in text form, it is more correctly known as an ASCII emoticon, where the shrugging figure is created using characters from different languages and symbols.
How did the shrug emoji meme become popular?
This shrug emoji meme became widely recognized in the mid-2010s. Suddenly, everybody started using it whenever someone asked a question, gave them a situation, or had a conversation in which either they didn’t know or really didn’t care. That says a lot about how one can humorously say, “Hey, that’s confusing,” or “I accept this is out of my control.” The shrugging gesture-physically and here in its digital version-is, is an immediate, natural response to something one cannot control or fathom.
The meaning behind the shrug emoji
Its playfulness and adaptability in everything from social media to casual text messaging has been part of its appeal. As an iconic internet meme, the shrug emoji text epitomizes the casual, irreverent tone of so much online humor. Soon, many social platforms integrated it, and modern emoji keyboards would eventually give way to the shrug emoji instead of having to type out the full character sequence of a figure.
The shrug emoji gets modernized
Although somewhat replaced by the official shrug emoji 🤷♂️ or 🤷♀️, this version `¯\\\\_(ツ)_/¯` is a beloved classic in the internet lexicon. Emojis have become vital to digital communication, as they add color and personality to texts and provide a visual means of exuding emotion, ideas, and even tone. Some emojis, like the shrug emoji, have grown to become critical in conveying feelings or emphasizing questions at the end of casual conversations.
Using the shrug emoji: in popular culture
Incidentally, the shrug emoji got its existence from the text-based shrug emoticon, `¯\\_(ツ)_/¯`. Before the fully illustrated emojis, this emoticon- like many others- was made using keyboard characters to form a symbol or expression. The shrug emoticon has a great deal of history in terms of a way to express nonchalance or confusion and is nostalgic to many who use the internet. It harks back to the early days when platforms like AOL Instant Messenger were popular, and phones still had physical keyboards.
The shrug emoji is still relevant
To those who appreciate the simplicity and aesthetic of the original shrug emoticon, it remains a winner. But since it’s a little cumbersome to type out, it becomes a hassle to do every time. Most of those who use the emoticon regularly would copy and paste it from websites like CopyShrug. For heavy users of the emoticon, though, having to go to a website every time to scrape up the emoticon gets really old-especially on mobile.
How to type the shrug emoji: Step by step
Fortunately, the shrug emoji is easy to type by creating a text replacement shortcut on your device. This great hack uses autocorrect to insert a short phrase or abbreviation into the full shrug emoticon.
How to type the Shrug Emoji on Mac
- First, highlight the shrug emoticon and copy it: `¯\\_(ツ)_/¯`.
- Open System Preferences and select Keyboard.
- Select the Text tab.
- In the “Replace” field, type an abbreviation like “shrug.”
- In the “With” field, paste `¯\\\\_(ツ)_/¯`.
- From now on, when you type “shrug,” this emoticon will appear.
How to get emojis on Chromebook and Windows
You can download various programs, such as PhraseExpress, which will let you set up similar shortcuts on the fly. With one of these programs installed, you don’t have to copy and paste each time you want to type a shrug emoticon.
Setting Up Shrug Emoticon on iPhone
- On any device, highlight the emoticon `¯\\\\_(ツ)_/¯` and copy it.
- On your iPhone, go into Settings.
- Tap on General followed by Keyboard. Tap Text Replacement.
- Tap the “+” button to create a new shortcut.
- In the “Shortcut” field, write “shrug,” and in the “Phrase” field, paste the emoticon.
How to Type the Shrug Emoticon on Android
- Copy `¯\_ツ_/¯`.
- Tap the three dots to open your keyboard settings on your text message keyboard.
- Go into Dictionary and, if using a Google Pixel, select Personal Dictionary; on Samsung devices, choose Text Shortcuts.
- Create a new shortcut: Type “shrug” in the shortcut field and paste the emoticon in the phrase field.
The roots of the shrug emoji
The construction of `¯\\\\_(ツ)_/¯` is an example of ASCII art combined with kaomoji, which is typically more complex compared to the Western version. Not only was the combination of symbols catchy, but a “ツ” for the face of Japanese katakana character slashes and underscores that traced arms and shoulders made the emoticon catchier still. This combination gave the shrug emoticon its distinct look and playful quality.
Internet culture: A new Meme appears
As internet culture evolved and platforms like Twitter, Reddit, and Tumblr were on the rise, the shrug emoticon evolved into a meme. It became, like the huh meme, quite iconic. Its versatility lends itself just well to internet humor, where an ironic and even sarcastic tone in communication is so often the key.
The Shrug Emoji: Complicated to type?
Despite being so much complicated, this emoticon was spreading because it could not be entered manually without hassle. Symbols copy and paste was done from websites such as CopyShrug. Soon, creative ways were developed by which the emoticon could be used in conversations fast: keyboard shortcuts or text replacements.
The eventual shift towards new emojis
With emojis gaining popularity, the shrug emoticon started to be somewhat replaced by emojis, which seemed more graphical and finished, so to say, in their portrayal of emotion. In 2016, Unicode introduced an official shrug emoji, which conveyed the same sentiment with a single keystroke.
Conclusion
It was, in a way, the shrug emoticon that spoke to the transition from those early days of internet culture and user-generated quirkiness into something sleeker, emoji-driven, and uniform. Yet, it still remains a symbol of how digital language is in constant evolution, entrenching itself with every passing moment. While the new shrug emoji made things easier and more straightforward for most users, the original text-based shrug emoticon possesses a lot of nostalgic value. It is still used by lovers of the old internet.
FAQs
What is the shrug meme?
Answer: The shrug emoji is a popular emoticon that is used to convey emotions over text.
What does the shrug emoji symbolize?
Answer: It can be used when you want to show you don’t care or are nonchalant.
Does the shrug emoticon seem rude?
Answer: Using the shrug emoticon gives off a playful, nonchalant, and casual feeling.
How to type the shrug emoji?
Answer: The shrug emoticon can be copied and pasted from websites or turned into a shortcut.
Is the shrug emoji used in 2024?
Answer: Certain internet communities still prefer the old shrug emoticon, so yes, it is still used.
How to use emojis on Chromebook?
Answer: Emojis can be used by installing programs such as PhraseExpress on the device.
