Photo illustration (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic).
A Facebook 'Like' isn't quite nuanced enough to let users express how they really feel about their friends' updates. Instead of providing an equally inadequate dislike button, the social network is rolling out Reaction buttons to 1.5 billion users worldwide. The five new emojis offer an array of emotional responses from love to anger.
Starting today (Feb. 24), when you hover over the Like button on Facebook (or hold it down on mobile), a pop up will appear that contains all six options. Between Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry, you can now express your feelings in degrees. You can also now hover over the number of Likes, or whatever, to see exactly how many of each type a post has received and who clicked each.
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These emotional responses are a result of a year of testing in Ireland, Spain, Chile, the Philippines, Portugal and Columbia. For the testing, the company consulted focus groups and looked at short comments and stickers to determine the emotions most commonly expressed.
The company also tested a Yay button, but did not release it. There is no Dislike or Meh, yet. Facebook says it will continue to refine the product based on user feedback.
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