As many know, we commonly use emojis to communicate over text to people. When it comes to describing ourselves, we have emojis that look like us to an extent that we use to give an idea of what we look like or to give our reaction. To include everybody, emojis have been made for those with deafness, blindness, lost limbs, guide dogs, wheel chairs, etc.... However, these emojis have been used for people to make jokes and insults towards others, implying that such disabilities are a joke and/or an insult.
I’ve seen the blind man with a probing cane emoji used as an insult towards people who are ignorant or tend to not see what is right in front of them. I’ve also seen the hearing aid emoji used to make fun of people as well as other emojis used to insult people. Now these emojis are associated with negative ideas and people. Something that was created to be inclusive is now being used as an opportunity to make ableist remarks, losing its effect. What is your take on this? Do you feel that people are abusing these emojis?
Hello Salome! I have also seen the blind man with a probing cane emoji used as an insult, and I do not think it is right to use these emojis to hurt someone's feelings. I do believe that people are abusing these emojis, but some users probably do not have the intention on making disabilities seen as a joke. We should use these emojis to spread awareness, and how we should not perceive anyone differently just because they have a disability.
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