handshake: medium-dark skin tone, dark skin tone
Unicode: 1FAF1 1F3FE 200D 1FAF2 1F3FF
Description
A person with hand raised to the chin, a right-facing hand, and a person with hand raised to the chin, a left-facing hand, with varying skin tones, depicting two people contemplating or in deep thought.
Group:
People & Body > hands
Status:
fully-qualified
Emotion:
Typically represents deep thought, contemplation, pondering, agreement, disagreement, or a moment of reflection. The different skin tones indicate inclusivity.
Backstory
This emoji sequence combines two 'person with hand raised to chin' (contemplating person) emojis with different skin tones using a zero width joiner (ZWJ) to create a multi-person representation. The individual components were standardized earlier, and the combined form represents a more nuanced interaction or shared contemplation.
Usage Examples
- When presented with a choice: 'Should I order pizza or pasta? 🤔🤔'
- In a discussion where opinions are being weighed: 'That's an interesting point… 🤔🤔'
- When someone is considering a difficult decision: 'Trying to figure out the best approach. 🤔🤔'
- As a response to a complex question: 'Let me think about that one. 🤔🤔'
Cultural Differences
Western culture:
Commonly used to express 'hmm', 'I'm thinking', or 'I'm considering this'. Can imply skepticism or thoughtful consideration.
East Asian culture:
Similar usage, often used in online discussions to show active engagement with the topic, or as a response that acknowledges and processes information.