Here in L.A., the emoji that gets the most usage is the thumbs up. It’s ubiquitous. It’s replaced “Thank you.” It’s an acknowledgment to having received a text and answer to every question. Maybe it’s the New Yorker in me, but I see it as passive aggressive. Also, people need to think for a second before they respond. Recently, a Canadian judge ruled that a farmer who answered with a thumbs up emoji he used in a text was as valid as a signature and legally binding. That’s what happens when language is discarded.
Not everything is a thumbs up.