Condom emoji could soon be introduced in bid to promote safe-sex
Its looks the aubergine may have some stiff competition.
Durex originally announced the release of a new condom emoji last year, after conducting a study into young people’s attitude towards safe sex to coincide with World AIDS Day.
Results of the study showed that 80% of 18-25 year olds find it easier to express themselves using emojis – with nearly all respondents regularly using emojis when discussing sex.
The study found that 84% of those asked said they feel more comfortable talking about sex using emojis.
Somewhat worryingly, more than one third of respondents also claimed not to care about safe sex – and nearly half think that HIV will never affect them or their friends.
However, with the Unicode Consortium yet to decide on what new emojis should make the cut for the next release, Durex has issued an open message to group, encouraging them to include their latex offering.
“Emojis of this sort will enable young people to overcome embarrassment around the discussion of safe sex, encourage conversation and raise awareness of the importance of using condoms in protecting against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS,” said Durex marketing director Karen Chisholm.
In November, HIV charities issued a warning about an “alarming” upswing in HIV diagnoses, after new figures revealed there are now more than 100,000 HIV-positive people in the UK.
Public Health England released its annual UK-wide report on HIV transmission as part of HIV Testing Week.
The figures showed that an estimated 103,700 people in the UK are now living with HIV, taking the number above 100,000 for the first time.
If you’d like to add the emoji to the list, then you can share your support for the campaign using the #CondomEmoji hashtag.
