Ten-year-old wants to change nerd emoji
The so-called nerd emoji has been around since 2015. However, a British boy thinks it is in urgent need of an overhaul and is therefore turning to the Apple Group.
Ten-year-old Teddy Cottel from Peppard in the UK is taking on the global corporation Apple. The reason for this is the so-called nerd emoji. It shows the classic round face with glasses and prominent incisors.
But Teddy, who wears glasses himself, is convinced that this image gives the wrong impression of people who wear glasses since he stumbled across it in a text message from his cousin. That's why he started a petition asking Apple to change its "offensive and insulting" glasses emoji. "I like wearing glasses because I can see much better with them and because they look good and stylish," the boy told the BBC. However, he is "worried that people who wear glasses for the first time will think they look like rabbits or rats". This is how he explains his initiative in the petition.
To make the changeover easier for Apple, Teddy has also submitted a new draft of the emoji. In it, the broad grin with the clear teeth is replaced by a mischievous smile. The glasses also have a narrower frame and thinner lenses.
"Sad and angry"
Instead of the previously used term nerd emoji, he calls his new design genius emoji and hopes that the technology company will adopt this. The ten-year-old told the British BBC: "Apple makes it absolutely horrible for people who wear glasses."
The boy received support from his teacher. Lisa Baillie shared his concerns and helped him start the petition. It calls on Apple to change the emoji. "I like his inquisitive mind and the fact that he's fighting for what he believes in," the teacher said.
"They make people think we're nerds and that's absolutely terrible," Teddy argues. "It makes me sad and angry, and if I find it offensive, thousands of people around the world will find it offensive too." Teddy said that if Apple were to adopt his ideas, it would be a great feeling and would make him very happy.
According to Emojipedia, Nerd Face was approved as part of Unicode 8.0 in 2015 and added to Emoji 1.0 in 2015. Some platforms have already redesigned the nerd face over time so that it no longer has "buck teeth".
Teddy's petition, gained support on international social networks, urging Apple to reconsider their use of the "buck teeth" emoji, as it perpetuates negative stereotypes. The 10-year-old, inspired by Apple's influence in technology, believes that a revised "genius emoji" would better represent individuals wearing glasses.
Source: www.ntv.de
