“It directly affects my sense of control over my own life.” “Whether something is chosen for me or by me is of critical significance,” he said. Referencing another article published on his own WeChat account, Wang siad the new emoji scheme was akin to China’s transition to online grocery shopping, whereby consumers lose the chance to hand-select their produce.
WeChat did not immediately respond to Sixth Tone’s request for comment. But for the users, it’s a deprivation of their rights.”
“For them, this is just another iteration of a product. “They don’t believe the public, the users, have the right to determine things for themselves,” Wang said. According to Wang, this is but one example of the developers forcing their beliefs on users, irrespective of the users’ own interpretations.Īn artist holding a poster showing old (left) and new WeChat emojis poses for a photo in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, Jan. Commonly used as an expression of prayer or thanks, in the latest version, the icon looks more like two people high-fiving due to the flatter position of the hands. Wang invokes WeChat’s “hands touching” emoji to illustrate his point. In light of this, the developer should not wield complete control over how these symbols are modified, he said. Upon approaching the entrance to WeChat’s headquarters, however, the artists were told that the company’s emoji designer was not in.Īs someone who has paid close attention to the developments and shifts in public symbols, Wang in early February wrote an article published on the WeChat arts and culture account Dominoart, arguing that, for “large-scale communication tools such as WeChat, the meaning of expressive symbols is defined by both the developer and the long-term user” - more so by the latter, actually. “I believe conversations about these changes must happen in real life before they’re propagated online,” he said.
Wechat emoji free#
“The set of default emojis had already established a solid base among the app’s users.”įor Wang and his friends, physical protests are a means of breaking free from the online environments that major platforms - including WeChat - exercise considerable control over, and are thus a more effective way of starting a dialogue. “For a large proportion of Chinese society today, WeChat is as essential as a city’s foundational infrastructure, similar to city signs and traffic signals,” he said.
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