According to Business Insider Mark Zuckerberg has announced Facebook has a dislike button is in the works.
From the articles I have already read on the issue the initial concern seems to be that the dislike button will promote cyber bullying and make Facebook a more negative space to be in.
While this might have some merit I think there are a lot more things to consider than people disliking other peoples personal statuses.
Whether you know this or not, the like feature on Facebook has a role in what you see more of in your feed. If you like someone’s status you will see more of their status updates in your feed. Facebook have an algorithm that only shows you a small percentage of what has been posted. You have to manage your feed to see what you really want to see or create groups of friends so you have quick access to the friends you really want to keep up with.
I am hoping the dislike feature has a similar role, if you dislike something then you will see less of that in your feed. There is already a function to ‘see less’ from a particular poster or you can just unfollow them completely which is a polite way of removing them from your feed without unfriending that particular person.
If you write constant statuses about how much works sucks all the time or you just want to complain about absolutely everything you can bet on the fact that I have more than likely already followed you.
Judging off what Mark Zuckerberg has recently said “what they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment” which is a long way off this negative space everyone is making out Facebook is going to turn into. Let’s be honest, an unfiltered Facebook is a miserable and negative place to be around already. You really have to filter down to those bright sparks in your life to make Facebook a worthwhile place.
That would be my first tip; get rid of anyone negative from your feed.
News Agencies need to be held accountable for the crap they produce, the rumour mills and the click bait that leads to nowhere. I hope the dislike button has a negative effect on their reach and forces them to produce a higher standard of content. However if we take what Zuckerberg has said the dislike button may be a way to express sympathy. For example if you read a story about a child with a terrible illness the ‘like’ button doesn’t seem an appropriate action at all and the dislike button would be a better way to express how you are feeling at the time. No-one wants to see a child get a horrible illness.
The dislike function definitely isn’t a new concept. Youtube has used it effectively with often the most disliked videos being videos that have a misleading thumbnail or title. Reddit also had a function where you can vote up or down particular stories but the Facebook dislike has a much more personal aspect to it.
It is hard to say whether I am for or against the idea. You can’t possibly be for or against something that you haven’t even seen how it has been implemented. Doing so would just be naïve and you are basing your opinions off rumours and assumptions of what is to come.
Facebook is overdue for a big update. I have noticed a lot going on the Business Page side of things but it’s time for a change to spark some discussion.
Do you think a dislike function would be well received and what form do you think it will take on the social network?
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