We all know emojis have taken on alternative meanings. The peach, pineapple, and eggplant emojis have all had their moments and represent things *other* than the literal fruit. But there’s a new emoji with an alter ego. The pear emoji apparently now means you’re single and not that you just really like pears.
Naming itself “The Biggest Social Experiment,” a new brand called Pear is centered around making it known that you are single. You have two ways of making this known. On the internet, users can include a pear emoji in their bio to let followers know that they’re single, and while out in real life, the company created a custom jade-colored ring.
The concept and company seem extremely exclusive. The Instagram account is kept private, and when you access the website, it first asks you if you’re single. If you click no, then it prompts a response: “This is a product just for single people who are in a position to meet other people.”
The website says ring holders will be issued a unique membership number, receive an invite to the mysterious singles festival called PearFest, and get an access code to exclusive free events in your city. This honestly sounds like a real-life dating app where you’re essentially getting set up to be in an exclusive group to meet other singles.
The company claims that by wearing this little green ring to show you’re single, then you would be able to make a more genuine in-person connection without dating apps, but isn’t this ring already not allowing the connection to happen naturally? If I this took off, everyone would be walking around looking for people wearing a green ring rather than taking their chances.
Honestly, you can count me out on this one. This totally ruins my ability to tell the annoying guy at the bar that I have a boyfriend even though I don’t.