Fears of unintentional racism as Apple launches line of ethnically diverse emoji
Industry experts predict a sharp increase in the number of mobile phone users choosing voice calls over text messages for fear of being branded a horrible racist following Appleâs unveiling of a new line of ethnically diverse emoji. The cartoonish face icons included in Appleâs iOS and OS X operating systems were given a splash of colour by the Cupertino-based company earlier this week in order to make them more inclusive and ethnically diverse. But users of Appleâs products are now gravely concerned that their misuse of the icons might cause everyone around them to hate them and chase them with sticks. âAm I supposed to use the emoji that most looks like me, or the one that looks like the person Iâm sending the message to?â asked one distressed Apple fan on an online forum. âApple really needs to make this clearer!â White, middle-class Britons especially seem to be unsure of how they are supposed to use the new icons. âWould always using the Caucasian-looking one be misconstrued by my friends and coworkers as an indication of my secret desire for an all-white Britain?â asked a concerned Mac user from Croydon. âMaybe Iâll just use them all in order. Not that thereâs an âorderâ to race or anything. I meanâoh god, am I racist? I am, arenât I?â  With no official guidelines to refer to, Apple users around the globe have set about deciding their own rules for how and when to use the new emojis in their messages. Others, meanwhile, are swearing off text messaging altogether. âOf course I want to be seen to be accepting of all races and cultures,â said an investment banker from Norwich. âBut if I send my black coworker a black Santa emoji in a Christmas text, will he just think Iâm taking the piss? Iâll probably just start using actual words to convey my thoughts and feelings from now on instead. Itâs not worth the risk.â