Bubbles have a tendency to pop and disappear quickly. For this reason, it's sometimes used metaphorically to describe something inflated without substance, like an 'economic bubble,' or to represent a fleeting hope.

Recently, due to the pandemic, the term 'social bubble' became common. As such, the bubbles emoji's meaning has expanded beyond physical bubbles to signify a 'protective barrier' or an 'isolated world' confined within a certain group or way of thinking.