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There’s a new international campaign by Durex – for a safe sex emoji. And they’re asking people to support the cause by hashtagging #condomemoji.
But does the world really need to see these new emojis on their phones you ask? Well, 80% of 16-25 year olds say that they find it easier to express themselves by emoji.
And with over a third of young people apparently claiming to not care about safe sex, maybe Durex are on to something here.
The idea for the condom emoji has been announced ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1st – Durex say nearly half of young people think that HIV will never affect them, or their friends.
It’s a well timed campaign – this year’s Oxford Dictionaries word of the year was, yes, an emoji. You can’t deny it- emojis are now crucial to how many young people, and indeed young couples, connect.
Durex hope seeing and using the little icons will enable young people to overcome embarrassment when discussing safe sex and ultimately, raise awareness of the importance of protecting against STIs.
They want 1 million users to let their voices be heard over November – this support can then be used as part of the official submission to Unicode on World AIDS Day.
People around the world have been welcoming the idea of the new emoji so far
Sex talk is global and so are emojis. But there's something missing. How about an official #CondomEmoji? https://t.co/s9Ic7hK6Fp
— Durex Kenya (@DurexKE) November 18, 2015
#CondomEmoji please
— ayel victoria (@avadepano) November 18, 2015
Why don't we already have a #CondomEmoji? WHY? https://t.co/h79W4bEE1k
— Amy Williams (@amytweetedthis) November 18, 2015
And Dr. Marck McCormack, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Co-Director, Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities at Durham University, says that many young people have gained their sexual knowledge through searching the internet (as well as their own sexual activity).
He said: “While participants generally felt able to discuss safe sex within their romantic relationships, there was more uncertainty with new or potential partners.
“80% welcomed the idea of the emoji to make the discussion of safe sex easier and more fun”.
There are certainly alarming statistics all across Europe when it comes to attitudes towards safer sex. Research before from Durex and MTV found that 78% of 16-24 year olds across Europe were sexually active – 4 in 10 had had sex with more than one person without a condom.
