Thing 5: Diversity

Bitmoji avatar from Snap.inc

I agree that it is a good thing to have more diverse emojis, it is important to be represented in what has become common language. If you consider languages that use gendered words, like French and Italian, there is no space for people who do not fit into binary language. Emojis are a form of language, so they should be diverse and representative. However, I do not think technology companies are ground-breaking or deserve endless praise for doing the bare minimum. Representative or inclusive visual language does not equate equality, rather it aligns more with “tolerance”, especially the emojis that just changed the skin tone of default and sometimes white figures.

Paige Tutt made an interesting point in their article “How Apple’s new multicultural emojis are more racist than before,” that they now had to consciously insert race into their digital communication. However, I would agree with Kate Miltner, that technology neutrality is a myth. The new emojis just made us more aware of it.

I really enjoyed the Bitmoji app and the amount of customisation that was possible.