Apple Receives Plea From 10-Year-Old To Overhaul ‘Nerd Face’ Emoji
Illustration 154263940 © Arkadi Bojaršinov | Dreamstime.com
With myriad emojis representing people and their emotions, it comes as no surprise that users deeply resonate with these icons that have wedged themselves in everyday lingo. Over time, tech companies have had to redesign or expand upon these symbols to better reflect the evolving landscape.
Now, one 10-year-old from Oxfordshire, England, is taking a stand. Teddy Cottle has launched a petition aimed at Apple, urging the tech giant to change what he considers an offensive and insulting emoji—the ‘Nerd Face’ with its prominent front teeth.
10-year-old Teddy petitions Apple to redesign the 'nerd face' emoji: 'It's making me feel sad and upset' https://t.co/fD1m23Ev4C by @ChanceHMiller
— 9to5Mac (@9to5mac) November 29, 2023
Teddy’s gripe is that this emoji perpetuates a negative stereotype about people who wear glasses, like himself.
To address this issue, the young activist has come up with his own version, which he affectionately calls the “genius emoji.” In his redesign, the toothy grin is replaced with a closed mouth bearing a small, friendly smile.
Apple’s ‘Nerd Face’ (left) VS Teddy’s proposed design (right). Images via Emojipedia and PetitionOnline.uk
This campaign was sparked when Teddy was texting his cousin and noticed the emoji. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it portrayed people who wear glasses in a derogatory light, and he shared his concerns with his teacher, Lisa, who rallied behind his cause.
The petition began making the rounds in his school and is now online.
In Teddy’s words, “I think people who wear glasses are cool, and I am worried that people who are getting glasses for the first time will think they are going to look like rabbits or rats.”
It’s important to note that Apple didn’t invent the characteristics of this design; Unicode, which oversees the introduction of emojis, approved these features to be standardized across operating systems back in 2015.
Before Teddy’s call for change, others had also pointed out that the geeky glasses combined with buck teeth could evoke anti-Asian stereotypes.
I've always been uncomfortable with the "nerd" emoji; now I know that it has roots in racist stereotypes of East Asian people, I hate it with a sincere passion.
— Dr Bethan Tovey-Walsh (@LinguaCelta) August 6, 2020
How can we put pressure on vendors to change designs?@OwsWills @unicode @alolita @roozbehphttps://t.co/359LPjxWxD
Several platforms have since redesigned the face to remove the buck teeth, seemingly recognizing the harm such imagery can cause. However, Apple, along with Microsoft, Samsung, and others, continues to use interpretations that include these features.
From left to right: Apple’s version of ‘Nerd Face’ VS iterations from Google, Samsung, and WhatsApp. Images via Emojipedia
Teddy hopes that Apple adopts his redesigned emoji, and he says it will make him feel “amazing” and “so excited” if positive action is taken.
The iPhone maker, for its part, has yet to respond to the boy’s petition.
[via Metro.co.uk, 9to5Mac, BBC, images via various sources]
This article was crafted with assistance from an AI engine, and has been manually reviewed & edited.
