Nowadays, the Taco emoji has gained popularity in digital communication. Most people use it in texts and on social media posts to talk about taco food. However, it’ always not accompanied by food-related conversations. It also carries hidden meaning, thus exposing kids to mature content.
In this guide, we’ll discuss in detail its different meanings with examples. Also, we’ll explore whether it’s suitable for teens or not and share with you tips to monitor your kids’ digital activities.
What does the Taco emoji mean?
The taco emoji usually looks like a half moon, usually made from a yellow tortilla. This tortilla is folded to hold the fillings like lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese, and seasoned meat, depending on the platform (Apple, Android, etc.)
This emoji represents the real taco 🌮, which is a Mexican delicacy that consists of a tortilla, meat, cheese, and vegetables. Mostly, this emoji is associated with food. So, if a message came through saying, ‘Let’s meet 🌮,’ the person is looking forward to a taco date.
You mostly see this emoji in chatting when people are planning for Taco Tuesday (a day when people eat tacos together in large numbers).
Examples:
- “Guess what we’re having for dinner?! 🌮🌮🌮”
- “Tacos are literally the highlight of my week 😋 🌮”
- “Family dinner = taco night! 🌮❤️“
Hence, based on the examples above, we could conclude that the emoji indeed adds a cheerful and exciting tone to the food-related messages.
But that’s not all. The taco emoji might mean something quite different, depending on the context. So, let’s understand its slang meanings!
What does the taco emoji mean in Slang?
Well! In slang, the taco emoji might 🌮 not signify food. On the internet or in informal conversations, it symbolizes something mischievous. Let’s explain it so you don’t get mixed up.
Most of the people on the Internet use the taco emoji to symbolize a woman’s private parts (vagina). Just like the peach emoji 🍑 symbolizes a butt, a taco emoji is used to signify something private.
Examples:
- “He’s dreaming about tacos again 🌮😏” — this can’t be about food.
- “‘Too many taco emojis under her photo 🌮😂” — It’s clearly a flirty comment.
So, be cautious. If someone sends you 🌮, and there is no food in the context. Then, you need to think about the context.
No matter the situation, context is paramount. If the discussion is pre-planned to revolve around dinner, feel free to use the taco emoji. However, if an adult is talking and the atmosphere feels like something flirty, hinting, and a taco emoji is dropped, it could mean something entirely different.
So, joke, flirty in a more blurry or adult contexts, just best to avoid taco emoji altogether. If you don’t comprehend the context in a chat, refrain from answering using the same emoji. Also, the best approach is to consult a trusted adult.
Use parental controls to gain more insights of your kids online interaction.
The origins and popularity of the Taco emoji
The taco emoji, although small, has slowly become one of the most-used food emojis out there. You know, there is an interesting story behind how this came into existence and became popular! So, let’s understand its history in an enjoyable way!
Origin of Taco emoji
In 2015, Unicode 8.0 was released. It is a universal language system that allows computers and phones to show emojis. Thus, with this launch, it came with new emojis, including a taco emoji.
Before its addition, people often talked about tacos, but hadn’t had any emojis that matched to make chatting more engaging. Thus, on huge demand, and even waiting for years, this taco emoji
🌮 become accessible on phones.
Adoption and design of the Taco emoji
Soon after its launch, it was introduced on major platforms like Apple, Android, Facebook, and Twitter. Each of these platforms has its unique taco emoji, differing in color and design. Each company added it in their own updates and in a uniform manner to the other emojis, which helped in taco emoji gain its own identity.
Cultural influence and the popularity surge
Finally, one of the main reasons for the taco emoji’s popularity was “Taco Tuesday. It was a popular phrase used by restaurants to offer taco deals on Tuesday. Thus, friends plan to gather to eat tacos and have fun.
Thus, a significant number of individuals started incorporating 🌮 in their posts, making it a marker of enjoyment, food, and celebration.
Ongoing use in digital communication
The taco emoji is now not just an object of discussion in food-related conversations, jokes, and memes, but also a lighthearted slang. It can change from one meaning to another for different messages.
Is the taco emoji appropriate to use?
Absolutely yes, the taco emoji is fit to use in conversations related to food, such as during a lunch chat, sharing a recipe, or posting a picture of your favorite taco 🌮.
Nevertheless, as you continue to use emojis, you will notice that some of them evolve to mean a different thing altogether. Similar is the case with the taco emoji. As mentioned earlier, some adults also use it as a secret code for private discussions.
That’s why you need to take a pause and think to whom you are sending the emoji. Also, think whether the other person is talking about food or in another context. So, to put it simply, the taco emoji is safe to use when referring to food, but can be tricky when used in other contexts.
Similar emojis like taco
Now, you might know that the taco emoji isn’t just related to food, but some people may use it for teasing others. However, there may be other emojis that represent food, but have other flirty meanings too.
If you’re a parent, then you should have knowledge about these emojis too, so you may take action to prevent your kids from using them. Let’s explore emojis like the taco emoji that you would consider innocent, but in reality have a totally different meaning.
🍑 Peach Emoji
If you look at the peach emoji, then you could only think that it’s simply a fruit, and people might use it for food-related conversation. However, you get shocked to know that people have started to use the emoji to represent a butt.
Examples
- “Check out that workout she did 🍑💪”*
- ”After she posted another picture, everyone started sending her lots of peach emojis 🍑🍑”
The above examples clearly show that peach emojis here represent private body parts. With that in mind, if you ever come across such chats from your child, it might make sense to understand what the discussion is really about.
Eggplant emoji 🍆
Similar to the previous emoji, eggplant can also be put under a different category online. Apparently, it shows a vegetable, but it is also used by adults for a jocular representation of the male’s anatomy in more mature conversations.
Examples
- “He thinks he’s so cool 🍆😂”*
- “That comment took a strange turn… eggplants all over the place 🍆🙈”*
Thus, such emojis in conversations are not only inappropriate but also alarming. So it is best to counsel your child if you find it in texts where the context is not food.
Corn Emoji 🌽
Last but not least, there is the corn emoji 🌽. Although it is less obvious than the previous two, people also use it to represent explicit content. For instance, people often substitute the slang word “porn” with “corn” to avoid getting flagged online for adult content. You will mostly see this on sites that have filters on the material.
Examples
- “ Don’t under any circumstances click that corn link 🌽😳 ”
- “ The various types of corn shelved at the store are so interesting 🌽📱 ”
While this example might be a bit tricky to notice at first. However, focusing on the text’s tone will allow you to detect instances of misapplication.
Is the Taco emoji safe for teens to use?
When it comes to teens, whatever the emoji they use, it’s best to understand the context. Because most of the emojis have dual meanings, one can be innocent while the other is flirty.
Similarly, the taco emoji 🌮 is mostly innocent, but it is still a good idea to be mindful of its usage.
As mentioned earlier, teenagers can notice the taco emoji 🌮 in texts or comments that completely omit any mention of food. In such contexts, people might use the taco emoji to reference body parts or other adult subjects in a light-hearted manner.
Also, young people can use 🌮 emoji just for the sake of using it without understanding what it represents. Such stress can push them to use send or reply to a message in a manner that contradicts their inner feelings.
Example:
“Everyone commented 🌮 under her photo.” – Your child or teen might use emojis just for the sake of using them without understanding what they represent. Thus, you can guide your teen that it is okay not to have to participate or ask questions about something that is beyond their understanding.
How to know if your kids are using Taco emojis?
Now, you might be wondering how you can monitor your kids’ digital activities. Well! Don’t take stress! It’s quite easy to keep an eye out to see whether your kids are using the taco or similar emojis or not.
Here, I’,m sharing with you some actionable tips to ensure your kids’ digital safety!
Check messages and social media
First of all, you have to scroll through your kids’ chats or social media posts together with them. If you find that they have used a taco emoji beyond food conversations, then gently ask what this means.
Thus, you would guide them deeply that here it carries different meanings other than this.
Monitor frequently used Emojis
Furthermore, a helpful tip would be to look at emoji usage on the keyboard with the child’s permission. Emojis have a feature that records the most frequently used ones.
Try parental control tools
Moreover, it’s obvious that communication plays a key role in keeping kids aware of online dangers. However, there is a strong need to actively monitor your kids’ digital interactions. In this case, using third-party parental control tools would be a smart move.
So, try using the FlashGet Kids parental control app would help in letting you know whether your kids are using slang terms or not. For instnace;
➢Keyword detection: FlashGet Kids allows you to set keywords related to emojis, like the taco emoji or others, in the messaging apps. Thus, if your kids try to use such emojis, you will get an instant alert.
➢Screen mirroring: Moreover, one of its amazing features is that you can screen mirror your kids’ phone devices. Thus, you can see live by sitting in one place where your kids are chatting, and what kind of emojis they are using.
In short, not all emojis are safe to use. So, you have to understand the context. Also, you have to openly talk with kids, remain updated about trending emojis, along with using parental control tools.
