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	===Face Features===		===Face Features===
−	When creating a Bitmoji, users are prompted to first take a selfie of themselves that[[File:bitmoji how to.png|thumb|300px|right|How to Customize Face Features]] the application will use to compare their real face structure to a cartoon one. After this initial step, users have the opportunity to personalize their digital appearance with various attributes. Each quality is customizable to best represent an individual's unique looks. The main features available are hair color, eye shape, lip size, facial hair, and ear shape etc. In addition, the Bitmoji application also allows users to add or delete more specific characteristics such as jawline definition, cheek wrinkles, eyebrow color, and forehead lines. Having the power to change these features and portray a perfect image can impose its own implications. Snapchat recently enhanced th	+	When creating a Bitmoji, users are prompted to first take a selfie of themselves that[[File:bitmoji how to.png|thumb|300px|right|How to Customize Face Features]] the application will use to compare their real face structure to a cartoon one. After this initial step, users have the opportunity to personalize their digital appearance with various attributes. Each quality is customizable to best represent an individual's unique looks. The main features available are hair color, eye shape, lip size, facial hair, and ear shape etc. In addition, the Bitmoji application also allows users to add or delete more specific characteristics such as jawline definition, cheek wrinkles, eyebrow color, and forehead lines. Having the power to change these features and portray a perfect image can impose its own implications.
	===Body Features===		===Body Features===
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	===Where Bitmoji is Used===		===Where Bitmoji is Used===
−	Bitmojis are versatile in the way they can be used in many different messaging applications and websites. With compatibility functions to incorporate the Bitmoji software in IOS and Android processes, Bitmoji can be used on any application within those realms. For example, users can send their personalized Bitmoji via iMessage, Snapchat, and Google Chrome along with other messaging platforms. Through IOS, Bitmoji is enabled on a user’s phone by simply adding the Bitmoji keyboard in the settings options. Google play, for Android users, also accepts the Bitmoji keyboard through its Google Keyboard. Apart from the mobile application usage, Bitmojis can also be used on desktops. Google Chrome is a large proponent of Bitmojis and allows users to use them while communicating through platforms such as Google Mail and Google Messenger on a desktop<ref> https://www.bitmoji.com.</ref>. The seamless transition from using Bitmojis from mobile devices and tablets to desktops makes the service versatile in the methods is can be used to communicate with others around the world.	+	Bitmojis are versatile in the way they can be used in many different messaging applications and websites. With compatibility functions to incorporate the Bitmoji software in IOS and Android processes, Bitmoji can be used on any application within those realms. For example, users can send their personalized Bitmoji via iMessage, Snapchat, and Google Chrome along with other messaging platforms. Through IOS, Bitmoji is enabled on a user’s phone by simply adding the Bitmoji keyboard in the settings options. Google play, for Android users, also accepts the Bitmoji keyboard through its Google Keyboard. Apart from the mobile application usage, Bitmojis can also be used on desktops. Google Chrome is a large proponent of Bitmojis and allows users to use them while communicating through platforms such as Google Mail and Google Messenger on a desktop<ref> https://www.bitmoji.com.</ref>. The seamless transition from using Bitmojis from mobile devices and tablets to desktops makes the service versatile so that people can easily communicate with others around the world.
	=Ethical Concerns=		=Ethical Concerns=
	===Self-Representation===		===Self-Representation===
−	A Bitmoji can represent a person and how they would like to be perceived on Snapchat. Snapchat users have the ability to create a virtual representation of themselves by altering face structure, body shape, and clothing style. Accuracy, as described by Richard Mason, is one of the four issues of the Information Age. <ref> Mason, Richard. “Four Issues of the Information Age” MIS Quarterly Vol. 10, No. 1 (Mar.,1986), pp. 5-12., https://www.gdrc.org/info-design/4-ethics.html.</ref>. The accuracy of a Bitmoji is determined by the original creator but can have different characteristics than the creator. A user has the opportunity to look younger, prettier, skinnier, and more athletic etc. Bitmojis can hold non-normative identities where users represent themselves in ways that might not be socially acceptable. This identity is a personal choice by the creator. The concept of ethical acculturation explains that a user’s actual self is in sync with their online identity<ref>Bash, Anderson. “An acculturation model for ethics training: The ethics autobiography and beyond.” (2007).,http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.38.1.60.</ref>. When using a Bitmoji, ethical acculturation is impaired when there is a lack of balance between the true physical identity and the digital one. Smith and Watson explain that “ All self-presentation is performative - it’s manufactured.”<ref>Smith, Sidonie., Watson, Julia. “Virtually Me: A Toolbox about Online Self-Presentation”, (2014), chapter 6, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/maize/mpub9739969/1:12/--life-writing-in-the-long-run-a-smith-watson-autobiography?rgn=div1;view=fulltext.</ref>. The presentation of ourselves is tailored to our needs and can be formulated in a synthetic manner.	+	A Bitmoji can represent a person and how they would like to be perceived on Snapchat. Snapchat users have the ability to create a virtual representation of themselves by altering face structure, body shape, and clothing style. Accuracy, as described by Richard Mason, is one of the four issues of the Information Age. <ref> Mason, Richard. “Four Issues of the Information Age” MIS Quarterly Vol. 10, No. 1 (Mar.,1986), pp. 5-12., https://www.gdrc.org/info-design/4-ethics.html.</ref>. The accuracy of a Bitmoji is determined by the original creator but can have different characteristics than the creator. A user has the opportunity to look younger, prettier, skinnier, and more athletic etc. Bitmojis can hold non-normative identities where users represent themselves in ways that might not be socially acceptable. This identity is a personal choice by the creator. The concept of ethical acculturation explains that a user’s actual self is in sync with their online identity<ref>Bash, Anderson. “An acculturation model for ethics training: The ethics autobiography and beyond.” (2007).,http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.38.1.60.</ref>. When using a Bitmoji, ethical acculturation is impaired when there is a lack of balance between the true physical identity and the digital one. Smith and Watson explain that self-presentation is performative. <ref>Smith, Sidonie., Watson, Julia. “Virtually Me: A Toolbox about Online Self-Presentation”, (2014), chapter 6, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/maize/mpub9739969/1:12/--life-writing-in-the-long-run-a-smith-watson-autobiography?rgn=div1;view=fulltext.</ref>. The presentation of ourselves is tailored to what we want and we believe society wants from us.
	===Aspirational Bitmoji===		===Aspirational Bitmoji===
−	How people create a Bitmoji by carefully chosen features represents how someone wants to be perceived by others. In most cases, to choose a Detroit Lions jersey as the outfit for a Bitmoji, that would indicate that you are a fan of that team. It could also mean that you want whoever you are sending the Bitmoji too, to believe that you are a Detroit Lions’ fan. Bitmoji even allows users to dress their character in a professional attire such as a firefighter suit or a chef to demonstrate one’s career interests<ref>Silbert, Sarah. “What Exactly is Bitmoji?”, https://www.lifewire.com/bitmoji-explained-4137793.</ref>. Users can aspire to look like someone based on the features they select to use on their character. This aspiration can be a fake representation of what someone really wants to be just to please those who are viewing their cartoon avatar.	+	How people create a Bitmoji by carefully chosen features represents how someone wants to be perceived by others. Choosing a Detroit Lions jersey as the outfit for a Bitmoji would indicate that you are a fan of that team. However much truth there is to that representation is unknown. Bitmoji even allows users to dress their character in a professional attire such as a firefighter suit or a chef to demonstrate one’s career interests<ref>Silbert, Sarah. “What Exactly is Bitmoji?”, https://www.lifewire.com/bitmoji-explained-4137793.</ref>. Users can build a bitmoji that is inspired from a particular person's features, and this allows for misrepresentation to potentially occur.
	===Constant Changes===		===Constant Changes===

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Revision as of 06:48, 4 April 2018

Bitmoji

"Bitmoji App on iPhone" text Type Mobile Application Launch Date 2014 Status Active Product Line Service Platform iPhone or Android Application Website Bitmoji Official Website

B

itmoji is a free service that allows users to create customized emojis. Snapchat, a popular social media application used to send pictures with short captions, acquired Bitmoji in 2016^[1]. This led to Bitstrips, the parent company of Bitmoji to become inoperative in the same year. After Snapchat acquired Bitmoji, the application became the number one downloaded application in Snapchat’s top 5 markets: US, UK, France, Canada, and Australia. A user can style and design their Bitmoji character how they best see themselves and want others to see them. This Bitmoji can be used across various web-based services and is an alternative way of communicating through emojis. Bitmoji continues to dominate the technology markets as the software is compatible with IOS and Android software. However, as Bitmoji continues to expand, ethical implications of the features on the application continues to impose problems by the people who falsely represent themselves to others.

History

Bitmoji is a product of the Canadian company Bitstrips, which was founded in 2008 by Toronto-based Jacob Blackstock and Jesse Brown. Post college, Blackston worked in the cartoon and animation industry and was inspired by that experience to start Bitstrips^[2]. Bitstrips was originally developed to create customized comic strips for those with less creative capabilities. In 2014, Bitstrips created a spinoff called Bitmoji which is one of their services that provides users an alternative way to communicate with others through personalized emojis. As a brand of the Bitstrips company, Bitmoji fits into almost all social media platforms’ communication methods. The concept of Bitmoji’s fills a communication void humans have been facing without even knowing it. Today, cell phones and social media are common ways to communicate with others, but Bitmoji brings back a variation of face to face interaction over messaging with human-like characters.

Bitmoji Basics

Face Features

When creating a Bitmoji, users are prompted to first take a selfie of themselves that the application will use to compare their real face structure to a cartoon one. After this initial step, users have the opportunity to personalize their digital appearance with various attributes. Each quality is customizable to best represent an individual's unique looks. The main features available are hair color, eye shape, lip size, facial hair, and ear shape etc. In addition, the Bitmoji application also allows users to add or delete more specific characteristics such as jawline definition, cheek wrinkles, eyebrow color, and forehead lines. Having the power to change these features and portray a perfect image can impose its own implications.

Body Features

Apart from the facial feature options Bitmoji gives users, the body features are also customizable. Users can choose to portray themselves as larger or smaller through their stomach and waist and can also alter breast and muscle size. This opportunity to choose physical features pressures users to fulfill social norms and expectations, which can lead to falsely representing themselves.

Additional Style Choices

Brands

Bitmoji has partnered with several brands to offer its users branded clothing options. There are sports-related clothing options such as Nike and Adidas as well as NHL, NFL, and NBA gear that allow users to show their support for their favorite teams. Brands such as Forever21 and Steve Madden have also partnered with Bitmoji, and avatars can be dressed similarly to their users who shop at these stores. Bitmoji has also advertised movie releases such as Ghostbusters and Batman V Superman by giving options to dress up like the main characters from the movies.

Outfit

Choosing the bitmoji outfit allows users to convey their own personality through clothing style. The application offers a variety of outfits: jerseys with specific team names, classic hoodies, and jeans, some of which are offered through Bitmoji's own fictional lines such as the Bitmoji Collezione, Bitmo-Tees, and Basics X Bitmoji. There are also several seasonal lines Bitmoji has such as Bitmoji Harvest, Brrrmoji, and Bitmoji Sun, all of which are available during any season of the year for users who enjoy dressing their Bitmoji to the season they are dressing for.

Occupational Personalization

Bitjmoji's clothing allows the user to represent their occupations as well. For examples, Bitmoji's can be dressed in a doctor's coat or a firefighter's helmet and jacket. Additionally, for women, Bitjmoji offers maternity clothing that can represent a pregnant user. Users can portray themselves how they want to regardless of their style in reality. The plethora of options gives users the ability to customize their physical appearance to their liking and the opportunity to be something they're not in real life.

Bitmoji Deluxe

Snapchat recently rolled out Bitmoji Deluxe for users who wanted more options to customize their Bitmoji. Users who value a greater attention to detail can update their Bitmoji app and into settings to change their base avatar style ^[3]. This new update has 40 new skin tones and 50 new hair styles that can be subjected to different hair styling treatments such as coloring or texturizing ^[4]. Users who are often overlooked or forgotten in avatar creation because of their unique styles or minority backgrounds are being heard by the big corporation with these new options.

Bitmoji Uses

What Bitmoji is Used For

On Snapchat, Bitmojis are primarily presented as stickers through the Bitmoji keyboard used during chats or added on top of snapped pictures. Bitmojis are also seen "live" when used through a filter on snap. Bitmojis can be seen doing regular activities such as playing sports or cooking meals and can even be seen interacting with other Bitmojis if the user is replying directly back to a friend.

Where Bitmoji is Used

Bitmojis are versatile in the way they can be used in many different messaging applications and websites. With compatibility functions to incorporate the Bitmoji software in IOS and Android processes, Bitmoji can be used on any application within those realms. For example, users can send their personalized Bitmoji via iMessage, Snapchat, and Google Chrome along with other messaging platforms. Through IOS, Bitmoji is enabled on a user’s phone by simply adding the Bitmoji keyboard in the settings options. Google play, for Android users, also accepts the Bitmoji keyboard through its Google Keyboard. Apart from the mobile application usage, Bitmojis can also be used on desktops. Google Chrome is a large proponent of Bitmojis and allows users to use them while communicating through platforms such as Google Mail and Google Messenger on a desktop^[5]. The seamless transition from using Bitmojis from mobile devices and tablets to desktops makes the service versatile so that people can easily communicate with others around the world.

Ethical Concerns

Self-Representation

A Bitmoji can represent a person and how they would like to be perceived on Snapchat. Snapchat users have the ability to create a virtual representation of themselves by altering face structure, body shape, and clothing style. Accuracy, as described by Richard Mason, is one of the four issues of the Information Age. ^[6]. The accuracy of a Bitmoji is determined by the original creator but can have different characteristics than the creator. A user has the opportunity to look younger, prettier, skinnier, and more athletic etc. Bitmojis can hold non-normative identities where users represent themselves in ways that might not be socially acceptable. This identity is a personal choice by the creator. The concept of ethical acculturation explains that a user’s actual self is in sync with their online identity^[7]. When using a Bitmoji, ethical acculturation is impaired when there is a lack of balance between the true physical identity and the digital one. Smith and Watson explain that self-presentation is performative. ^[8]. The presentation of ourselves is tailored to what we want and we believe society wants from us.

Aspirational Bitmoji

How people create a Bitmoji by carefully chosen features represents how someone wants to be perceived by others. Choosing a Detroit Lions jersey as the outfit for a Bitmoji would indicate that you are a fan of that team. However much truth there is to that representation is unknown. Bitmoji even allows users to dress their character in a professional attire such as a firefighter suit or a chef to demonstrate one’s career interests^[9]. Users can build a bitmoji that is inspired from a particular person's features, and this allows for misrepresentation to potentially occur.

Constant Changes

Once a user creates a Bitmoji, they can go back as many times as they want to change different parts of its appearance. This can be deceiving to those who receive the Bitmoji because the appearance of one’s digital identity is changing to fit the model society has deemed ‘normal’ for people to look like. Whether it is having long or short hair, blue eyes or brown eyes, or a slimmer body, people can change how they want others to see them through this application. The ethics behind doing this derives from the misrepresentation of one’s self to please society. An avatar, as Sam and Watson explain, “facilitate identity tourism”. An embodied identity is not altered with someone’s avatar but the way someone uses it to represent themselves can impose ethical implications^[10].

Privacy Concerns

Upon downloading Bitmoji, users are asked to grant the application "Full Keyboard Access" in order to use the application. While the company claims that this is necessary in order to render personal Bitmoji images on a user's device, user's have raised concerns about the application storing data about what they are typing. ^[11] While the company claims they are not using keyboard access to gain and retain this information, it is not outside of their technical ability to do so. The application does not record keystroke information, but they do collect usage related data such as what types of stickers a user tends to send and from what kind of device they are sending from ^[11] Although these are all technically agreed on by the user upon downloading, there is an ethical concern that data obtained about a user could be leaked or used without their explicit permission. Furthermore, when the user grants "Full Keyboard Access," the application does not provide more information about what that entails.

Snap Map

SnapMap was first introduced to Snapchat in June 2017. Snapchat allows their users to use their personally crafted Bitmoji to share their location with other users on the app. Users pinch the screen to then have the ability to see snaps from people around the world. In the privacy settings, users have the option to share location with their friends. If a user opts to share their location, their Bitmoji will be seen on the SnapMap of their exact location with all of their friends. An alternative is allowing location to be viewed exclusively by a selecting a group of friends. Otherwise, Snapchat users will be in "Ghost Mode." The location will not be shared with anyone. The location setting can be changed anytime. Locations are only updated when a user is utilizing the app. Exact location expires after inactivity. ^[12]

The SnapMap update is increasing social and ethical problems. It allows users to have control of the privacy, but also lends problems of safety concern. In the United States, 60% of the users are between the ages of 13-24 years old. ^[13] The updated has made law enforcement and other public entities issue public statements on the issues of safety anyone who uses the app. It can be a tool for online predators to track other individuals and cause harm. ^[14]

Permissions

Bitmoji provides a list of permissions the user has consented to upon downloading the application. This includes but is not limited to^[15]:

• In-app purchases: Bitmoji can ask users to make purchases inside the app
• Device and app history: Bitmoji can retrieve running apps
• Identity: Bitmoji can find accounts on the users’ device and read the users’ own contact card
• Contacts: Bitmoji can find accounts on the device, read the users’ contacts, and modify users’ contacts
• Phone: Bitmoji can read phone status and identity
• Photos/Media/Files and Storage: Bitmoji can read the contents of the users’ USB storage and modify or delete the contents of the users’ USB storage
• Camera: Bitmoji can take pictures and videos
• Microphone: Bitmoji can record audio
• Wi-Fi connection information: BItmoji can view Wi-Fi connects
• Device ID and call information: Bitmoji can read phone status and identity
• Other: Bitmoji can receive data from the internet, view network connections, full network access, run at startup, draw over other apps, and prevent device from sleeping

Bitmoji states that they have the ability to automatically add additional capabilities within each permission group without notifying the user.

References