Facebook is finally getting a dislike button: will you use it, do you care?

Mobile World Congress 2015 - Day 1
After years of only being able to respond with actual words or a thumbs up to sad, depressing status updates from casual acquaintances we regret adding, Facebook is now offering us an easier option. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced this week that a dislike button is in the works. He didn’t provide a projected release date or more details beyond the fact that it would be a way to express empathy. The dislike button won’t be a ranking system like reddit but will provide a better way to express feelings without, you know, having to write anything. It sounds like Facebook is still working out the details:

CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during a Tuesday Q&A session that his company has indeed been working on [a dislike button].

“I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years,” Zuckerberg said. “Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.”

The exact form a “Dislike” button may take is still up in the air. “What [users] really want is the ability to express empathy,” Zuckerberg added. “Not every moment is a good moment.”

Facebook has long shied away from building a “Dislike” button over concerns it would invite rampant negativity. “That isn’t what we’re here to build in the world,” Zuckerberg said.

[From Time]

I don’t use Facebook often but as research for this post I went on to figure out what was dislike-worthy. My aunt posted the sad story of Father Mychal Judge, a hero of 9/11. He was a “Franciscan priest, carried out of the 9/11 rubble by the firefighters he counseled.” Would I dislike that post by my aunt? I mean I admire the man’s sacrifice but dislike the fact that anyone died on that terrible day. When a friend posts that her cat died I might dislike it on principal but if it’s a post with all the great things the cat did in his life, like drinking from the faucet (I love when they do that) or catching mice like a boss, how can you dislike that? I think that’s what they’re trying to figure out at Facebook. What does the dislike button mean exactly? I don’t have high hopes for it. It took them months to get the new picture format correct so it would automatically find the faces. The dislike button is going to be a mess.

Mark Zuckerberg is kind of nerdy hot, right?
Mobile World Congress 2015 - Day 1

CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Mobile World Congress 2015

CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg speaks at the Mobile World Congress 2015

Photo credit: WENN.com

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63 Responses to “Facebook is finally getting a dislike button: will you use it, do you care?”

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  1. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I do Facebook because it really helps me keep in touch with my huge extended family, many of whom are very very conservative. I am afraid of the dislike button. Just sittin’ there tempting me when I’m supposed to type Amen if I want to see the mud puddle turn into Jesus’s face. Help me.

  2. savu says:

    With so much negativity on the internet already, I’m not excited about this. I can just see emotional disasters in the future, even though some obnoxious posts deserve the dislike. The posts I’d dislike are the annoying ones from oversharing, obnoxious people – who you can tell are self conscious. Those are the people who probably wouldn’t do well with a dislike button.

    Also my cat freaking LOVES drinking out of the faucet. Gets so excited anytime I refill the ice cube tray.

    • Franca says:

      Kids these days base so much of their self-worth on socila media. This will just make it even easier to bully them.

      • Who ARE these people? says:

        My newspaper has a thumbs up/thumbs down feature, but the context is so different from Facebook, which is social and personal.

  3. unmade_bed says:

    No–Zuckerberg is not nerdy hot. I think a fist of solidarity would express empathy better than a dislike button.

    • WinnieCoopersMom says:

      He has the most punchable face I have ever seen.

      • Dani says:

        He’s also a massive douche bag with a horrible entitlement issue.

      • Emily C. says:

        He seriously has such a punchable face. My husband is “nerdy hot.” Nearly every guy I’ve ever dated or been friends with is “nerdy hot.” This guy is “nerdy douche,” and I’ve been subjected to enough of them to know ’em when I see ’em.

      • Katie says:

        Lol yes he actually does.

      • sarah says:

        @Dani uh.. compared to other wealthy under 35 entrepreneur’s he’s not even close on the scale of douche. He’s also grown up A TON since 10 years ago, and is becoming more and more known for his philanthropy.. being a douche comes with the territory of being a buisness person & keeping your buisness afloat.. he gets no shade from me there. If he were wasting his billions on yachts, cars, women, & illegal craft than he’d be a horrible person. I think he’s just a little entitled, but how can you not be with his sucess?

  4. Asiyah says:

    There should be a “nobody cares” button for the oversharers.

    • Esmom says:

      Seriously.

    • ladyg says:

      This is an honest question: what is an “over sharer”? Is it someone who posts every little detail of their life? Or is it someone who is open about their insecurities and opinions? Is it: “Shut up; nobody cares if you’re going through a rough patch.” Is that the sentiment, or am I misunderstanding how the term is used?

      • Esmom says:

        I think it’s mostly the first — the person who posts shots of her lovingly prepared dinner every night, the person who uses any excuse to post a photo of herself in a revealing bikini, the people who post every cool/hip/trendy activity they do, clearly for validation that they are in fact cool. Although I have witnessed people basically unraveling via drugs or mental illness via FB. I wouldn’t exactly call it oversharing to hear detailed rants, it’s technically more of a cry for help. I guess.

      • GoodNamesAllTaken says:

        To me, an over sharer posts several times daily, always about themselves, and always uninteresting. This is what I had for breakfast (picture of bagel), this is my new houseplant (picture of houseplant), this is my daughter’s choir singing at the mall (fuzzy picture of group of unidentifiable children taken apparently from 100 miles away), notice that you are eating at Kenny Rogers with someone I’ve never heard of, ten millionth change of profile picture, Go Gators! or whatever team you like, all in one day. My personal favorite was this post of a picture of the road outside someone’s house with a pothole. I don’t think my every move is that fascinating to people, and I don’t get why other people think their every move fascinates me. It doesn’t.

      • ladyg says:

        Thanks for the clarification, everyone.

      • Josefa says:

        For me it’s a little bit of both. Nowadays I have hundreds of “friends” in fb who post pictures and statuses for no reason. But I’m more bothered by those who start sharing very, very personal stuff expecting people to feel sorry for them. I understand the pain and the need for acceptance, but I just don’t understand the need to do it on a virtual platform when you could just talk to others in person.

      • ladyg says:

        Josefa: maybe because those people don’t have anyone to talk to in person? Just a thought…

    • Ozmom says:

      Right! And maybe a “get to the point” or “spit it out” button for folks who post cryptic messages like “I really hate people sometimes”. I feel like it’s a test to see which FB friends will respond with sympathy.

    • Lucy2 says:

      Totally. I’d use it on at least 40% of the stuff in my feed.

  5. Esmom says:

    Ugh. Too bad we can’t “dislike” the dislike button. Facebook is the worst. I do take hope from the fact that my teens stay far away from it. Although I’m not sure that the social media the kids are using is really any better.

  6. paola says:

    I might start using it again now that I can disagree with whatever crap people post.

    • Elisa the I. says:

      hahaha, me too! I left FB a few months ago and honestly never missed it for a second. Most annoying are attention-seekers (the majority) and people complaining all the f**** time.

  7. Sam says:

    I’m starting to think that Facebook is slightly struggling for its niche again. There are so many new social media platforms that are threatening it and Zuckerberg himself has been taking some lumps in the press (especially for being, from what I’ve heard from a friend, a rather lousy neighbor). Is it just me or does Zuckerberg also seem to be trying to turn his platform into some kind of “global force for good” thing now? People forget that he created the thing as a way for Harvard dudes to rank the hotness of their classmates. I don’t begrudge him getting wealthy by creating a product with demand, but I just find it weird that he seems to now be positioning the platform as some kind of social altruism when that was not the intent of it to start with.

    I personally did away with my facebook a while ago and feel much better without it. My view is that the people who really know me – well, they know me in actual life and can reach me that way. So no worries there. I do maintain an Instagram just for keeping in touch with relatives, since we have a lot of people in other countries who can’t keep up with us in actual life and they like to see kiddie pictures. So that’s it for right now.

    • FingerBinger says:

      If there wasn’t so much money involved it would be another MySpace.

    • Esmom says:

      Agreed, I think he has to find ways to reinvent it since social media has changed so much. It’s feeling less and less relevant to me these days.

    • WinnieCoopersMom says:

      Well he did create it over 10 years ago. It’s possible that his motives for the platform have evolved along with his personal maturity over the years.What you stress about as an 18 yo, insecure college guy compared to an early 30s multi billionaire can differ significantly.

    • lucy says:

      “I just find it weird that he seems to now be positioning the platform as some kind of social altruism when that was not the intent of it to start with.”

      I don’t have a problem with this. Growth, maturity, philanthropy are plusses!

      If rating hotness of classmates was the original intention, though, I find THAT disturbing!

  8. Jenns says:

    I’m sure this won’t cause any drama at all. Can’t wait for the Thanksgiving “Why did you unlike my ‘Trump-for-Prez’ status” conversations…

  9. OhDear says:

    Oh the drama that’s going to be caused by that dislike button…

    This will be reason #984,445 why I don’t post on Facebook.

  10. Sarah says:

    I don’t think everyone is reading the article before they post. The so called “dislike” button isn’t going to be for when you disagree with a post. It will be so that you can show solidarity with someone who posts something that maybe less than good news.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      That is true…but does “dislike” really match that sentiment? People are getting confused because showing empathy is not what “dislike” means.

    • Solanacaea (Nighty) says:

      I think the dislike button is for empathy and loss. Sometimes I see comments or pieces of news like: “Endangered species being hunted” or “Minister of Education is reducing the budgets for schools” And I always want a dislike button for it.. Not for personal things, but more general ones. I see friends and myself writing “Where can I dislike this?”

  11. Heat says:

    I hope it isn’t an actual “dislike” button, but I do like the idea of acknowledging something on facebook without “liking” it.

    • WinnieCoopersMom says:

      I agree. If I had to assume at this point what it will look like, I would consider it something like how People.com has the icon options to choose from: LOL, sad face, angry face, heart etc. A ‘dislike’ button would be too simplified for what he is suggesting with the empathy piece of it.

  12. Sarah says:

    I think Facebook alienates people, it’s being in school. its a popularity contest.

    • lucy says:

      It doesn’t have to be, though. The quality of content and communications set it apart from superficial relating, just as in real life face-to-face interactions. Content and context. People can be just as superficial IRL as they can on a social media platform. Social media can amplify superficiality, but I really think FB reflects the quality of what goes into it. If people only pay attention to how many friends or “likes” someone has rather than the content and context of communications, then yeah, the FB landscape can seem alienating. As in real life, make better friends!

      • Solanacaea (Nighty) says:

        For me facebook is a way of keeping friends close. I work across the country and it’s a means to stay in touch with family, friends and students…

  13. MonicaQ says:

    I remember seeing a meme that said, “John sees something on the internet he doesn’t like. John closes the window. Good on you John.”

    I just scroll pass it. If it’s someone I can’t stand, there’s the unfriend button. Not the “unfollow” button because I go whole hog. I’m not going to press the dislike button. Hell, I barely press the like button.

  14. Janie says:

    Yes and yes.

  15. Odesa says:

    Is it really so hard to express condolences and concern with words? “I’m sorry your cat died, he seemed really feisty”. That took me 30 seconds.

  16. tealily says:

    I’m hoping what he’s talking about is not an actual “dislike” button, but more of an “I acknowledge this” type of thing. I understand how facebook works and “like” things that I don’t necessarily like, but I’ve definitely had the conversation with multiple people about how they can’t believe someone “liked” a post that was someone’s obituary or another grim announcement. He’s talking about an empathy button… that seems like they’re on the right track. God knows we don’t need another way to express dissent on facebook. My newsfeed is negative enough as it is!

  17. Illyra says:

    If it’s an actual “dislike” button (as in, “so-and-so dislikes this”), then the drama currently involved in Facebook will soon be jacked up quite a few notches. It would also keep some people not already on Facebook from joining, and encourage many others to eventually quit.

    I think Zuckerberg et al would be shooting themselves in the foot with this move.

  18. Elleno says:

    I’ve read that it wont be a universal “dislike” button, but rather a setting you can turn on in an individual post that allows people to express a feeling of empathy about something sad or any other topic where “liking” just doesn’t fit. If I’m wrong, and it it turns out to be universal dislike button that you can use for any damn thing, FB has to realize that there will suddenly be a wave of negativity that washes over FB. I would probably not use FB anymore if that happens.

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/09/15/facebook_dislike_button_not_exactly_mark_zuckerberg_confirms_new_buttons.html

  19. MickeyM says:

    Mark Z is hot? DISLIKE.

  20. Wellsie says:

    A dislike button seems ridiculous. However, it really grinds my gears when someone *likes* a status that is obviously (?) not likeable. For instance, a news article about a violent attack left unsolved or someone’s post about a car accident they were in on the way to work. I often notice one or two stray likes that just make me go… WHAT?!?! That is something I dislike.

    So is the dislike button going to show up on posts like that to end my frustration? Now I don’t know what to feel.

    EDIT: Just read Elleno’s comment above. The more you learn!

  21. Mispronounced Name Dropper says:

    Can you press like and dislike if you’re ambivalent about something?

  22. Emily C. says:

    The dislike button is a way of disliking the actual post, not saying you’re sad about whatever. Like, if someone “disliked” a sad post about someone dying, that would mean they didn’t care about the person who died, or wanted to take a smack at the person making the post for some reason. There were people who were stalking others on Disquis disliking every post they made about anything anywhere. Disquis actually ended up removing the dislike option because it caused such massive community problems. It is an extremely bad idea and I expect Facebook will remove it near-instantly after putting it in.

    Btw, “liking” something sad just means “I hear you and empathize with your situation/I am sad with you/you put that really well/you were brave for saying that” etc. It does not mean you “like” that someone is sad. This is how it works everywhere online I’ve ever seen it, and I’m surprised so many people are confused by it.

    ETA: If it’s what Elleno says instead, that makes a lot more sense. I was surprised Facebook would be making such a deeply stupid business decision.

    • Wellsie says:

      “Btw, “liking” something sad just means “I hear you and empathize with your situation/I am sad with you/you put that really well/you were brave for saying that” etc.”

      Mmm… no, that isn’t necessarily what it means. That’s what you interpret it to mean. I also don’t agree that someone disliking a post about someone dying means you didn’t care about that person. I think it’s quite the opposite. Couldn’t it mean you dislike that someone passed?

      What’s that saying about a bug/error somewhere between the keyboard and the seat? I think it applies here.

      • Emily C. says:

        Nope, that’s the way like/dislike has always been used in every community I’ve ever seen. This is not a “me” thing in the slightest. This is why “disliking” a post makes people feel bad. This is why trolls like to do it.

        First: note my Disquis example, please. They had to remove the functionality entirely because it was causing such community problems. Further, on Amazon, they actually start hiding comments once they have enough downvotes. They claim the downvote means “did not add to the discussion,” but there are plenty of people on there who downvote anyone they don’t like for whatever reason, downvoting for simple disagreement is common, and at least one subforum I know of has a lurker who downvotes every single post everyone makes. Because downvoting means “stfu”. It’s what it’s always meant in all of the many communities I’ve seen on the internet. It’s actually considered deeply rude by many because of this, no matter how obnoxious the person’s post may have been.

        Trying to say a functionality that is traditionally used as an expression of hostility all over the internet isn’t that is frankly silly. It’s like saying a rude gesture could be just interpreted as waving. Nope.

  23. Amy M. says:

    The picture recognition thing ALWAYS tries ties tag me as my mother on Facebook, drives me nuts. Granted we do look alike and have similar bone structure but she is 30 years older than me and I look differently enough that standing side by side you can tell who is who. Facebook can’t. Of course my mom thinks it’s hilarious FB thinks she looks like she is in her twenties.

  24. ashley says:

    lol, the way this post was written was highly entertaining. The multiple questions and stream of consciousness are exactly how I feel when thinking about a dislike button. Thank you for evoking that, and also your descriptions of your friend’s dead cat’s awesome activities during life.

    But no, to me zuck looks like a fetus. I have a friend who works at FB and they literally (ok, practically literally) worship him in a cult, it’s the weirdest thing!!!!!

  25. daniel says:

    If they’re going to do it it can’t be just a simple “dislike”. You would need multiple buttons like:

    “TMI” (Too much Info, for people who post way to personal stuff online).

    “Nod” (I totally get that and understand where you are coming from dude!).

    “Like” (The usual).

    “Disagree” (I don’t agree with your mindset or thought there).

    “Boring” and “Interesting”.

    These six basic feed backs will let people know a more broad range of emotion.

  26. no says:

    we do not need more angry, unhappy, jealous people screeching the reason for being losers. I vote no thanks.