In Greek mythology, Icarus is known for flying too close to the sun. Despite warning, he flew too close, which caused his wings to melt and led to him falling out of the sky and drowning in the sea. Ouch. You see, Icarus was full of hubris, so he didn't listen. He didn't see the warning signs. And that, my friends, is what is happening to the red flag emoji before our eyes.

Over the last 24 hours, the red flag emoji (this one 🚩) has become increasingly popular on social media sites like Twitter to indicate exactly what it is: a red flag.

According to Mashable, the red flag emoji meme — meme? usage? — is simple: "whatever someone thinks is a red flag, followed by a series of red flag emojis."

Seems simple enough. It's a warning sign. Something that tells you, "Something not that chill" may be coming your way. A signifier that now may be the time to do a 180 and get the fuck out of Dodge.

Everyone's using it. I mean everyone (even Pokemon). You've got your Robinhoods saying, "Investing isn't for everyone," is a red flag. Your Twitters saying, “I’m not on Twitter," is a red flag. Your It's Always Sunny show accounts saying, "I don't know what milk steak is" is a red flag.

Sure! If you're into all of those things, then yes... it would be a red flag to you if someone doesn't like investing, social media, or milk steak. But what if our excessive sharing of red flags has made the red flag a red flag?

Per the Greek myth, Daedalus warned Icarus before his escape. He was told ahead of time 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 dOnT dO tHiS 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩 🚩. What if these red flags are telling us all the same thing? "Don't do this," they're saying. "Don't fly too close to the sun." "Don't overuse me or else I'll plummet out of the sky and end up drowning in the meme graveyard with the crying laughing emoji and the Snapchat filters of yore." Meta, I know.

Images: Bravo