So your Facebook friend just wrote a 5000-word status about how depressed he is, his co-worker keeps getting promoted over him, and his girlfriend just dumped him. He’s looking for some sympathy from his online acquaintances.
And your only option to show some support, besides a sad face emoji? The ubiquitous “like” button. Press it, and now you look like a jackass. Congrats, you just lost a Facebook friend.
So, yes, after years of speculation and member requests, Facebook is finally working on a Dislike button, according to its CEO Mark Zuckerberg. But it’s probably not exactly what you think.
Despite previously saying the social network wasn’t planning to build a “dislike” button, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during a Tuesday Q&A session that his company has indeed been working on one. “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.
Facebook debuted the “Like” back in 2009. There is no timeline on when the new feature will arrive.
