Durex are getting involved in the emoji scene with a brand new condom emoji they’re campaigning to install on all phones, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about the consequences this will have on the sext game.
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Here it is on the end:
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The idea is that we have a whole bunch of emojis already that you can put together to insinuate having sex, so why not one that conveys safe sex? Durex’s campaign to make this happen is partly due to a study they commissioned that found 18 — 25 year olds aren’t concerned with safe sex and generally have a very lax attitude towards having unprotected sex.
The study also found that a vast majority of young people feel more comfortable talking about sex via emoji.
Durex marketing director Karen Chisholm says:
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.
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Obviously teaching youngsters about the importance of safe sex and risks of STDs is important, but won’t introducing the condom emoji basically ruin the fun of sexting? Sexting is way better when it’s just wild and no holds barred with zero protection. Does that translate to young people’s real world sex lives? Is a condom emoji the most effective way to get the message through to them? Who knows. Maybe they’ll be OK, maybe they’ll end up like Charlie Sheen. Sometimes you’ve just got to roll with it and see what happens.
Don’t get me wrong, Durex are sending out a great message but putting it in condom emoji form is the biggest mood-killer I can think of. It just won’t be the same.
