Finally.
People share a lot, albeit maybe too much, information on Facebook every single day. And for almost as long as the ‘Like’ button has existed, users have been begging Zuckerberg et al for the inclusion of a ‘dislike’ button too.
The reason for this is simple. When things are going great for your friends, well, that’s great! You can like and share away, spread the good news!
However, when my best friend’s grandmother passed away, I ‘liked’ the status and was seen as an asshole.
It’s more of a statement on how we as a society share too much, or too personal, information. There were rumors of a ‘sympathize’ button to be introduced for this reason, but Zuckerberg explains the thought process below:
“What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment.” He said, at a Facebook Q&A this morning.
Facebook’s apprehension over the ‘dislike’ button was due to the idea that it would become a reddit-style social media where people could ‘upvote’ and ‘downvote’ content.
Finally, a great way to interact with the terrible news people like to post.