While the Thinking Face may only seem one dimensional, it can actually be used in a variety of different ways. The most obvious and fitting is that it is used to indicate that you are thinking about something. Your friend asks you out for lunch but you have a massive workload on. You could say: Hmmm not sure, lots of work 🤔 In a similar vein, the face can also be used if you have an idea or solution to a problem. In this case, you could pair the face up with a thought balloon or light bulb to demonstrate a eureka style moment. Another common use for this emoji is questioning a person or idea; let’s say you finally get lunch off and can meet up with your friend. This friend suggests a cheap fast food restaurant, even though you just stuck your neck out in front of the boss. You could respond: Pizza? Again 🤔

Approved in Unicode 8.0, the Thinking Face emoji was added in Emoji Version 1.0 alongside popular emojis like Tears of Joy face.