How did Loopy emojis become popular on social media? What kind of workplace psychology is reflected behind the sensitive and bashful + quirky workplace emojis?

Nov 21, 2023 emojis/expressions, emoji-stickers, emoji

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The Need for “Impersonators” in the Modern Workplace

Explaining the Needs of Modern Workplace “Impostors”

Let’s start with what Loopy emojis are.

It’s this little beaver below, originally a character from a South Korean animation, seemingly innocent and obedient.

But among young professionals in China, it has been interpreted as an emoji that appears cheerful on the outside but has a sarcastic and cynical inner voice through “remixing” or creating derivative works.

Its popularity as a workplace emoji precisely represents the combination of “sensitivity and shyness on the surface” and “contradictory and eccentric inner emotions,” striking a chord with the working class. It’s like looking into a mirror, giving voice to many inner grievances and unspoken complaints.

Behind the surface smile is the venting of life’s burdens, dissatisfaction with high-pressure environments, and a sense of resignation towards an ordinary life.

Just as many people on Zhihu, a Chinese Q&A platform, and workplace guide forums have split opinions, with some fiercely criticizing “spiritual capitalists” and “teaching others to be slaves,” while others take note and thank the authors for sharing their trial and error experiences.

But in the workplace, you mostly see one kind of person—the kind that respects and is careful around bosses and superiors. Those who dare to stand up and protest are rare true warriors.

Therefore, modern workplace professionals themselves are torn, under the innocent appearance, always suppressing difficult emotions.

This little beaver became popular because of its big eyes, white teeth, and seemingly innocent expression. The sarcastic lines added by netizens further highlight the self-deprecating humor and emotional friction within the workplace.

In gossip and complaints with close friends, this emoji helps establish a “psychological defense mechanism,” similar to the dog head memes behind self-mocking banter. It aims to express genuine feelings while emphasizing “venting ≠ anger.”

Psychologically, this defense mechanism helps maintain emotional stability by avoiding venting genuine emotions that could lead to a new cycle of distress, tension, anxiety, and guilt.

In plain terms: When you criticize your boss, your boss actually can’t hear it. However, the seemingly cathartic content can have the earliest impact on your own emotional state as the venting person. It can make you angrier or make you worry about how others perceive you after venting.

Therefore, using these cute and genuine emojis helps build a self-psychological defense mechanism. You first establish a position and then express what you truly want to say. Let anger be as humorous and harmless as possible.

Similar to a girl getting angry and cursing at someone by saying, “Mind your own business, tomato!” It allows her to vent while avoiding extremely offensive language. It maintains a cute image.

This kind of self-deprecating humor using emojis that have no serious impact reflects the working class’s clear understanding of reality and their self-positioning.

If we cannot escape pain, we might as well find some joy in it, using humor to alleviate anxiety and suffering in difficult situations.

On the other hand, as workplace professionals, we are all “impostors”.

In chat conversations, emojis primarily serve to express emotions, convey information, and liven up the atmosphere.

However, the usage scenarios of these emojis that appear “calm but crazy” are more like a realistic portrayal of today’s young generation than just expressing emotions.

Although we encourage each other to be outwardly positive and timely release our emotions, in daily life, most people still put on a smiling mask and maintain a well-behaved appearance.

We prefer to suppress the small but numerous negative emotions internally, playing the role of an adult who remains calm and composed rather than daring to express them outwardly. We don’t want to ask why; the answer is “because society expects us to.”

Who among today’s young people doesn’t have a “cute, calm but crazy” emoji in their phone?

These emojis excel at presenting a façade of tranquility and safety while secretly harboring thoughts of taking over the world in our dreams. It’s either an expression of “I’m silently observing your antics” with exhaustion or a vaguely resentful question of “What more do you want from me?” with suppressed anger.

The subtlety lies in the border between long-suffering and on the brink of madness. It’s like a volcano about to erupt—appearing calm on the outside but with boiling magma deep inside. In real life, it’s an expression that may appear composed on the surface but is detonating emotionally on the inside.

The workplace emojis reflect the psychological reality of the workplace:

We say “yes, yes, alright” and keep our discontent and complaints to ourselves, accumulating a basket full of them.

Finally, I’ll share a few Loopy workplace emojis.

I couldn’t find a way to remove the watermarks, so I included cropping bars below.

Follow to discover more interesting ideas.

An Lushan Enters Chang’an

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Loopy: From Cute to Quirky

You may have never heard of Loopy, but you have probably come across this pink rodent (correction, it’s actually a beaver) with various peculiar expressions in the comment sections of various apps.

She is originally a character from a popular South Korean anime series and initially became popular solely because of her cuteness. She followed the cute IP route with her round pink head, big round eyes, and iconic buckteeth. But somehow, she has been transformed into a wildly popular “quirky” emoji that our young people have taken to in a twisted manner.

The most common themes of the original Loopy emojis were being cute, confused, or expressing politeness and gratitude.

Later on, young people started using Loopy to express their truest inner thoughts. Her emojis gradually evolved into sarcasm, madness, and an apathetic attitude towards everything.

Today, she has already become the spokesperson for online quirkiness, representing the feelings of many young people who dare not voice their opinions or express their inner struggles.

With the most innocent appearance, she spits out the most quirky remarks.

Wearing the most carefree expression, she says the most shocking words.

Perhaps this stark contrast is the reason why she has become so popular on social media. After all, in these miserable times (and workplaces), we always need a means of venting and sarcasm. And this cute pink beaver fits the bill.

The initial purpose of emojis is nothing more than expressing our emotions, creating an active atmosphere, and saying things we dare not speak directly.

However, compared to the more common emotional venting in the past, the use of these “calm but crazy” Loopy emojis seems to reflect the reality of today’s young people.

Although the internet encourages us to vent our emotions externally and avoid internal conflicts, to be ourselves and express ourselves, in real life, many people can only maintain politeness and obedience due to the pressures of life.

When faced with minor but frequent negative emotions in life, rather than releasing them externally, they would rather suppress their emotions and continue to play the role of a calm adult and dare not demand anything.

During each workday, trapped in the exhaustion of work and the complex social relationships of the workplace, they often fantasize about their superiors becoming unemployed or the office exploding while they happen to be away.

But as adults, they still have to remain composed, so they keep their emotions hidden and continue to be seen by their superiors and colleagues as the good “Loopy,” obedient and submissive.

Everyone wears the mask of Loopy, and everyone becomes Loopy.

Mock Loopy, understand Loopy, become Loopy.

Who doesn’t go crazy at work or school?! Textual expression seems somewhat powerless, so why not use emoji packs for a more intuitive experience.

Sharing a set of loopy emojis, cute and quirky, give it a thumbs up if you like them~

That’s all, remember to give me a thumbs up if you like it~

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1. Features of Loopy Emoticons

Loopy emoticons feature sensitive and shy animal characters, expressing various workplace scenarios through witty and peculiar language. The unique aspect of these emoticons is that they not only have a sense of humor, but also a strong sense of situational empathy, allowing people to quickly understand their intended meanings in communication.

2. Reasons for the Popularity of Loopy Emoticons

Boost from social media platforms: Social media platforms provide a vast space for the spread of emoticons. On one hand, the large number of users on these platforms lays a foundation for the dissemination of emoticons. On the other hand, the interactivity on these platforms also promotes the spread and use of emoticons.
Reflection of workplace psychology: The sensitivity, shyness, and weirdness reflected in Loopy emoticons align with certain psychological states in the workplace. In the workplace, people often need to conceal their true emotions, and Loopy emoticons happen to meet this demand.
Demand for personal expression: In the era of social media, people are increasingly concerned about personal expression. With its unique style and meaning, Loopy emoticons fulfill people’s need to express their individuality, thus quickly spreading on social media.
Entertainment and sense of humor: The humor and entertainment value of Loopy emoticons are also one of the reasons for their popularity. Through these emoticons, people can add fun to workplace communication, relieve tension, and thereby bring people closer together.

3. The Workplace Psychology Reflected in Loopy Emoticons

Self-protection in the workplace: In the workplace, people often need to conceal their true emotions in order to avoid unnecessary trouble. The sensitive and shy image of Loopy emoticons perfectly meets this need, allowing people to better protect themselves in communication.
Coping strategies in the workplace: A sarcastic tone is a coping strategy in the workplace, as it helps people deal with various complex interpersonal relationships. The sarcastic tone in Loopy emoticons enables people to respond more flexibly to various workplace scenarios during communication.
Helplessness and self-deprecation in the workplace: The sensitivity and shyness of Loopy emoticons also reflect the helplessness and self-deprecation in the workplace. When facing the pressures and frustrations in the workplace, people often use humor and self-deprecation to alleviate their emotions, and Loopy emoticons embody this psychological phenomenon.

The popularity of Loopy emoticons on social media is not only due to their unique style and meanings, but also because they deeply reflect the psychological state of the workplace. The sensitive and shy, as well as sarcastic, images of Loopy emoticons allow people to better protect themselves, cope with workplace scenarios, and relieve their emotions during communication. These characteristics have made Loopy emoticons spread rapidly on social media and become a popular means of communication. In the future, with the continuous development of social media, we may see more products similar to Loopy emoticons, enriching our ways of communication and reflecting more workplace psychological phenomena.

Below, we are sharing some Loopy emoticons. They are watermark-free. If you like them, feel free to give it a thumbs up and take them!

Emoji: The Best Way to Convey Emotions

On Zhihu, we come across new terms every day. Recently, we had “city work” and “workplace jellyfish,” and now we have the Loopy Emoji Pack. However, in fact, it’s just the same old thing with a different name and different set of emojis.

Compared to the Indonesian chubby boy “Egg Egg” emojis that were popular a couple of years ago, the Loopy Emoji Pack has not yet gained the same level of popularity on the internet, especially in messaging apps.

Messaging apps are actually where emojis are used the most. Sometimes, a single emoji can surpass a thousand words and instantly make the other person understand.

For example, when someone compliments us on our high income and how many big deals we’ve closed and customers we’ve acquired, we usually can’t accept such flattery, so we just respond with this emoji:

We’re pretty much the same, no big difference.

Or, for example, when we have to endure our boss’s ridiculous tasks every day and can’t take it anymore, we can vent by sending this emoji:

Maybe just a moment ago, you were furious, but when the other person responds with an even cuter emoji:

Or, when we’re tired from working so hard, exhausted to the point where we can’t take it anymore, we can send this emoji:

Sometimes, after sending it, we have an outlet to vent, even though it doesn’t solve the current difficulties. At least our mood won’t be so bad.

It can be said that whether it’s the Loopy Emoji Pack or other emoji packs, they are all ways to relieve inner pressure.

Because words primarily convey information, using words to express emotions can sometimes lead to misunderstandings. Emojis, on the other hand, are the best way to convey emotions between people.

Loopy: Emotional resonance of working people

Is it a substitute for self-expression for workers when they have no other choice?

That is, when you encounter difficult problems or negative emotions, it is difficult to express them directly in first person (it is not allowed in reality and you also can’t bring yourself to do it). Most of the time, you have to rely on a third party to express them in a “veiled” way, so that you can find some relief and comfort within yourself.

Who is Loopy?

Loopy originally appears as a supporting character in the Korean animated series “Pororo the Little Penguin”. Loopy is a shy, sensitive, but friendly and kind little beaver who has two cute fangs and always wears a smile on her chubby pink face.

However, as one of the “pink-themed female stars” in the anime world, Loopy did not receive much attention from the beginning like Ling Na’s Belle, who was born with a “silver spoon”. Initially, her good friend Pororo was the protagonist of the animation, which was widely known in Korea and even referred to as “President Po” by people.

For Korean audiences, the animated series “Pororo the Little Penguin”, which has been airing since 2001, is a classic animation. This has accumulated a certain level of national recognition for Loopy in Korea.

But for Chinese consumers whose childhood memories include Sun Wukong, Sanmao, and Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, how did Loopy become popular?

In fact, Loopy’s popularity in China originated from a set of “working people” emoticons:

Loopy not wanting to get out of bed;

Loopy saying “Hello, my dear partner in slacking off”;

Loopy saying “If I don’t get off work soon, I will really get annoyed!";

…

These Loopy emoticons, based on Loopy’s initially limited facial expressions, with the addition of text and scenes, have achieved a kind of “natural integration”, perfectly capturing the mental state of working people in China.

So, what kind of workplace psychology does this sensitive and timid + ambivalent emoticon represent?

It probably means that it serves as a third party to express the emotions of working people, allowing them to vividly and burdenlessly express their feelings of “wanting to complain but unable to, daring to be angry but unable to speak”.

Whether working people want to vent their frustrations or engage in self-mockery, this sense of identification and emotional resonance has greatly promoted the spread of Loopy emoticons.

Furthermore, some people have even created derivative works, making the range of Loopy emoticons more versatile, making it applicable to almost anything.

As a result, Loopy is now appearing in more and more situations:

When you come across something eye-catching on the internet, you can respond with a Loopy emoticon tilting its head and looking ambivalent; when you encounter something frustrating in life, you can use a tearful Loopy emoticon to show vulnerability; when you’re in a happy mood, you can use a dancing Loopy emoticon to express joy…

In short, having a small outlet to relieve one’s emotions is always a good thing.

But the best scenario, of course, is for people to not encounter so many extreme problems and negative emotions, and when you do encounter problems, to be allowed to express them directly rather than having to rely on a third-party perspective. It’s a hope.

Ugly Appearance

Am I the only one who thinks I’m so ugly that it’s beyond description?