New Facebook Reactions: ‘Like’, or ‘Angry’?

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Facebook Reaction Emojis

Image from Facebook

When someone posts a sad status about their beloved dog, Fluffy, passing away, you can’t help but feel awkward to “like” their status. Never fear, Facebook has resolved this issue! Facebook users, meet Reactions.

Now you can express your true feelings on Facebook with a “like”, “love”, “haha”, “wow”, “sad” and “angry” reaction to your friend’s post. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explains that “People want to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions.” By simply hovering over the “like” button, or holding down on your mobile device, you can choose from the new reactions.

For those of you who don’t adjust well to change, there still is the “like” button. However, its meaning could be overruled and rendered less interested than the new “love” button. Facebook users may start to weed out their true supporters between the likers and the lovers…could this lead to issues?

Many people like this new feature, as it offers an easy way to quickly express a reaction to posts. Emojis have become a universal language between people. It seems only fitting that Facebook would jump on the bandwagon, right?

However, Kyle Smith with The New York Post begs to differ. He believes that for those controversial posts, such as a eulogy written for a loved one who passed away, it would be most appropriate to leave a nice comment rather than “the weepy face.” Could Facebook have resolved the issue with simply adding a “dislike” button, or just adding the “love” button? Smith believes so.

There is also the potential for this new feature to boost clicks. By adding several simple reactions to content, investors and advertisers can gauge what users think about their posts presented on Facebook.

Of course, Facebook will be monitoring the new Reaction feature and fine tuning until almost everyone (except, maybe not Kyle Smith) is comfortable with the change.

Heather Doan
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