It seems like just yesterday that we were digesting the last new range of emojis, but here we are again and they have done it all over again, with some weirdly specific niches being covered this time around.
The human emojis have been expanded to broaden the range, and will include older people, bearded men (finally), people wearing religious headwear…and breastfeeding women.
Um, okay.
I’m not going to deny it’s great to see all diversity bases being covered, but that is the definition of weirdly specific.
But that’s not all, we’ve finally got some mythical creatures to throw around as well. Genies and fairies lead the way, with merpeople joining the party to help people finally satisfy their aquatic romantic fantasies through emojis.
There’s also blonde elves there too, which is sure to send Lord of the Rings fans wild at being one step closer to a full Fellowship.
We’ve also got updates to the classic face emojis, with the queasy face being taken to a logical conclusion with a full-on vomiting one (expect some serious use out of that), along with a ‘mind-blown’ face, an angry face with cartoon swearing symbols and a man with a monocle. It’s about time emoji culture caught up with the classic gentleman’s style, after all.
And to close up, let’s examine a few of these new emojis that are just plain bizarre.
I’ve already said that some of these new ones cater to very specific needs, but seriously who is going to get regular use out of a curling stone? I can see how a brain or a rockclimber are useful, for clever moments or for people struggling through something, but I’ll be honest and say that I have never felt emotionally empathetic to a stone being thrown down an ice corridor while people furiously smooth down the ground in front of me.
Well, here’s hoping you can get good use out of these. There’s no doubting some were needed, and some will surely come into use for no good reason. Isn’t that the joy of emojis?
And if anyone finds a genuine use for the curling stone, send it in – the world needs to know.
