Journalism is officially dead. Everyone major media source it seems has decided to tell the world that Facebook is doing a dislike button. The problem is that it’s not true: they are not doing a “dislike” button at all, despite numerous reports that have been trying to get as much Facebook click-bait as possible.
Yes, some users have called for an option besides the like button, especially a “dislike” button that expresses disagreement with the post. However, Facebook has made it clear they won’t ever do that because it encourages bullying, and Facebook is focusing on being a “positive” place.
Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg did not announce during a press conference that he was going to do a dislike button, but was going to an “empathy” button that allows people to express sympathy and feelings towards someone’s less than happy post.
Professor Andrea Forte, an expert in social and participatory media at Drexel University in Philadelphia, was quoted by the BBC as saying that users will not use the dislike button negatively, rather to show mild disapproval. “They may use a dislike button to express some negative emotions or frustration, or to express solidarity when someone posts about a negative event like a death or a loss,” she explained.
“Over the years of people asking for this, what we kind of have come to understand is that people aren’t looking for an ability to down vote other people’s posts, what they really want is to be able to express empathy,” Zuckerberg said. “Not every moment is a good moment and if you are sharing something that is sad, whether it’s something in current events, like the refugees crisis that touches you or if a family member passed away, then it may not feel comfortable to ‘like’ that post. But your friends and people want to be able to express that they understand and that they relate to you, so I do think it’s important to give people more options”
