Does Emoji Representation Matter?

How much do emojis really matter? Depends who you ask, I guess. If you ask a tween or teen, it’s probably safe to say that the emoji is a crucial part of their daily communications – after all: have you seen a text from a teen or tween that doesn’t include these ubiquitous items? Emojis are everywhere. In our texts, our tweets and our status updates. They’re even in our emails.

Does it matter what colour emoji you use in a text? One mom was wondering and worried, based on her child’s text messages. I was asked by NPR about my thoughts on the topic, which I revealed in this interview.

Read on…

White Skin, Black Emojis?

subscribe to Code Switch podcast subscribe to Code Switch podcast Trying to pick the right emoji to convey exactly what you’re feeling – excitement, fear, existential dread – can be tough. What makes it more complicated? All those different skin tones. On Ask Code Switch, we take on your trickiest questions about race and identity.

A Band-Aid For My Wounds

When I was a kid, I used to hate getting scraped and cut. Of course, the obvious reasons for this were the pain and discomfort of being wounded. But there was another reason that I so despised becoming injured: the Band-Aids.