Facebook To Add "Dislike" Button

Facebook is set to add a “dislike” button as confirmed by founder Mark Zuckerberg.

18:56 17 September 2015

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that a “dislike button” will be added to the social network, explaining that it could be a way for people to express empathy.

 

In a Q+A session held at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, he explained: "People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years.”

 

"Probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it."

 

He added: “Not every moment is a good moment. If you are sharing that is sad, you know, whether it’s something in current events, like the refugee crisis that touches you or a family member passed away, then, it may not be comfortable to like that post.”

 

But friends and people would want to be able to express that they understand and they relate to you. So, I do think that it is important to give people more options.”

 

Meanwhile, Prof Andrea Forte, an expert in social and participatory media at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said users will not suddenly turn on each other's posts.

 

In an email, she wrote: "They may use a dislike button to express some negative emotions (like frustration with ads popping up in their feeds) but I doubt it will cause them to start wantonly disliking pictures of their friends' babies, dogs, cats and cooking experiments.

 

"I suspect it will mainly be used to express mild disapproval, or to express solidarity when someone posts about a negative event like a death or a loss."