Police and experts are warning parents to be vigilant about the emoji on their children’s phones, following Netflix‘s thriling drama Adolescence.
The series follows 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is arrested for the murder of a female classmate.
In one shocking scene, we see just how far out of their depth the series’ adults are, as DI Luke Bascome’s son explains the sinister meaning behind common emojis.
From kidney beans to love hearts, these innocuous symbols are revealed to hide a surprising code that most adults would never be able to spot.
In the world of ‘manosphere’ influencers, pills, the ‘100’ emoji and even kidney beans can be a sign that someone is an ‘incel’ – a radical misogynist who believes they are an ‘involuntary celibate’.
In the tense scene, Adam, played by Amari Bacchus, says: ‘The red pill is like ‘I see the truth’. It’s a call to action by the manosphere.
‘She’s saying he’s an incel dad. She’s saying he always will be. That’s why they say you’re an incel, they’re saying you’re going to be a virgin forever.’
From coloured hearts to kidney beans, red pills and ‘100’, here is waht the emoji on your child’s phone really mean – and what to do if you see them using them.
Netflix’s thriling drama Adolescence has shed light on the secret world of emojis. Pictured: Stephen Graham (left) and Owen Cooper (right)
Incel emoji
In Adolescence, a critical plot point is that suspected murderer Jamie Miller has been radicalised by online misogynist content.
The ‘manosphere’ is a collection of influencers and content creators, such as accused rapist and human trafficker Andrew Tate, which pushes sexist ideas onto young men online.
The most extreme of these groups are the self-proclaimed ‘incels’ – men who define themselves by their inability to form sexual relationships with women.
As a primarily online movement, several emoji have been co-opted by incels looking to proclaim their ideological allegiance or by their opponents to brand men as incels.
In particular, the pill emoji is used to show whether someone shares incel beliefs.
In an article for The Conversation, Dr Robert Lawson, an expert on sociolinguistics from Birmingham City University, says: ‘The cyberpunk blockbuster The Matrix is the source of a key symbol in the manosphere – the red pill.’
Just like in The Matrix, manosphere influencers describe adopting misogynist views as ‘taking the red pill’ and waking up from the illusions of the ‘Matrix’ of conventional thought.
In one shocking scene we see just how far out of their depth the series’ adults are, as DI Luke Bascome’s son explains the sinister meaning behind common emojis
The pill emoji can be used to mean ‘red pilled’ indicating that someone is an incel – an extreme misogynist who defines themselves by their inability to form emotional or sexual relationships
Dr Lawson continues: ‘In the manosphere, those who have been ‘red-pilled’ see the world as it really is, understanding the so-called ‘real’ nature of women’s behaviour and dating preferences.’
In Adolescence, DI Bascome, played by Ashley Walters, is also told that a dynamite emoji represents an ‘exploding red pill’ – meaning that someone is an incel.
Likewise, Adam explains how the ‘100’ emoji is another incel symbol, related to the ’80 to 20 rule.’
’80 per cent of women are attracted to 20 per cent of men,’ he tells his dad.
‘Women, you must trick them because you’ll never get them in a normal way.’
Finally, Adam claims that a ‘kidney bean’ emoji commented on someone’s post can be used to say that this person is an incel.
This emoji’s links to the manosphere are less clear but it could be a connection to the coffee emoji which has become a manosphere dog whistle in recent years.
Other manosphere-related emojis include the kidney bean emoji (left) and the ‘100 points’ emoji (right)
In the show, these emojis are used on Instagram to brand Jamie Miller as an incel
Based on an older meme circulated on the messaging board 4Chan and Reddit, the coffee emoji or the phrase ‘women coffee’ is sometimes used to mock or deride women.
Since the ‘bean’ emoji could also represent a coffee bean, it is possible that it has taken on some of the sexist meanings of the original coffee meme.
Coloured hearts
While you might assume that a heart emoji just means love, in emoji slang each different colour actually has its own hidden meaning.
As Adam explains to his father: ‘Red means love, purple horny, yellow ‘I’m interested, are you interested?’, pink ‘I’m interested but not in sex’, orange ‘you’re going to be fine’, it all has a meaning – everything has a meaning.’
However, that is just one way of using heart emoji codes and there are many other interpretations online.
In the most common view, a red heart represents classic love or romantic feelings.
An orange heart is used for warmth, enthusiasm, or love between friends and family.
According to Adam in Adolescence, red hearts mean love, purple means ‘horny, yellow means ‘I’m interested, are you interested?’, pink means ‘I’m interested but not in sex’, and orange means ‘you’re going to be fine’
Meanwhile, a blue heart is used less for romance, and more frequently to express friendship or to say that something is cute.
Likewise, a black heart doesn’t necessarily have any associations with death or dark emotions and is more often used as an alternative to the red heart for aesthetic reasons.
Drug emoji
One topic that the show Adolescence does not cover is how emoji are used to discuss and sell illegal drugs.
In 2023, Surrey Police issued a guide for parents on the latest emoji slang for the drug trade.
If you see your child using a horse emoji, for example, that could be a reference to Ketamine, a drug used in veterinary medicine to anaesthetise horses.
An alien, demon mask, space invader, or skull and crossbones emoji, meanwhile could be a reference to MDMA.
According to Surrey Police, cocaine is typically referred to using emoji that represent various nicknames for the drug.
In 2023, Surrey Police issued a guide for parents on the latest emoji slang for the drug trade
One topic Adolescence does not cover is how emojis are used to discuss and sell illegal drugs
For example, someone might use a snowflake or snowman to refer to ‘snow’ or blowfish to mean ‘blow’.
Cannabis, on the other hand, is referred to by a staggeringly wide range of emoji ranging from dogs, cake, and ice cream to various types of fruit such as lemons and purple grapes.
More common emoji for cannabis also include a maple leaf, four-leaf clover, or trees and leaves.
Similarly, a plug emoji is used to refer to a drug dealer, who is commonly referred to as ‘a plug’.
A Surrey Police statement said: ‘What is vital in these discussions is trust.
‘We’re very aware that checking phones could break down this trust between a parent and their child, and therefore we are not suggesting parents do this.
‘Instead, we want people to be aware of what these emoji mean, in case they do happen to see them.’
Sexting emoji
Additionally, many emojis also have a hidden sexual meaning which is used in sexting. Aubergines, peaches, cherries and the sweat droplets emoji may all have sexual meanings
Additionally, many emoji also have a hidden sexual meaning which is used in sexting.
Aubergines, peaches, cherries, and the sweat droplets emoji may all have sexual meanings in certain contexts.
Typically, these are used to refer to specific body parts with a similar shape to the emoji used.
For example, an aubergine or banana is well known to symbolise a penis.
Some adolescents may also combine these emoji in a certain order to symbolise specific sex acts.
Facial expressions
On the surface, smiley faces and hand gestures might seem innocuous, but many have secret meanings.
According to Bark, the ‘woozy face’ emoji is used to express drunkenness, sexual arousal, or a grimace, while the ‘hot face’ means ‘hot’ in the sexual sense.
On the surface, smiley faces and hand gestures might seem innocuous, but many have secret meanings
‘A kid might comment this on their crush’s Instagram selfie, for example,’ Bark explained.
The ‘upside-down face’ is used to express annoyance about something, while the ‘clown’ emoji is used when getting caught in a mistake or when feeling like a fraud.
The ‘side-eye’ emoji meanwhile, suggests that your child might be sending or receiving nude photos.
And the ‘tongue’ ‘may indicate sexual activity, especially oral sex,’ Bark added.
What to do if you find any concerning emoji on your child’s phone
While emoji are usually harmless fun, as Adolescence reveals, there can be a dark side.
Commander Helen Shneider, Commander Human Exploitation at the Australian Federal Police, explained: ‘Emojis and acronyms are commonly used by [sic] children and young people in online communication and are usually harmless fun, but some have double meanings that may seem trivial but can be quite alarming.
‘For example, the experience of our specialist investigators has shown that in some situations, emojis such as the devil face could be a sign your child is engaging in sexual activity online.
‘It is very important parents and carers are aware of what kind of emojis and acronyms their children are using when speaking to people online, and what they might mean.
‘It is important to stress that in most cases, it is probably nothing to worry about, but having open conversations with your children about their online safety can avoid the desire to embrace emojis and acronyms that might have more sinister meanings.’
Commander Shneider added that having a healthy dialogue with your children is the ‘best defence you can have’.
‘Electronic communication is constantly changing and it can be difficult for parents and carers to keep up,’ she said.
‘That’s why having a healthy dialogue with your children is the best defence you can have.’
