What The 8 Ball Emoji Means And Why It's On Newsfeeds

Not so long ago people began updating their Facebook status with a heart emoji. Though the hearts started popping up on newsfeeds around mid February, close to Valentine's Day, they had nothing to do with the romantic time of year. According to health.com, it was a Facebook campaign designed to raise awareness about breast cancer.

It was used as a reminder for women to go and get their breasts checked.

Now, something similar is happening for men.

You may have noticed that the 8 ball emoji is popping up here and there. On the contrary to what you may have thought - that Miniclip's behemoth of a game 8 Ball Pool is making a return - it's a campaign to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

Similarly to the previous heart campaign, the 8 ball serves as a reminder for men to get their prostate checked.

According to Dublin Live, the number eight references the second half of the word 'prostate'.

The Mirror reported that around 46,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with the illness, with around 11,000 dying from it. There's a stigma surrounding the cancer, as many men don't like the way doctors check whether or not you have it.

There is nothing wrong, funny or subjective about a prostate exam, and it is very important that it is checked.

To find out more information on prostate cancer, visit Prostate Cancer UK here.

Topics: Cancer

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.