PSA: Facebook is finally getting a “dislike” button

Could this really be happening? Could the thing we’ve been waiting for essentially since Facebook was created (OK, technically since 2009) finally be hitting our news feeds ? Could Facebook finally be introducing a “dislike” button? According to a Facebook Q&A earlier today, yes. And Facebook users everywhere rejoiced.

Mark Zuckerberg himself was the one to confirm that the feature is in progress:

This is great news, but why the wait? Well, apparently Facebook didn’t want to go down the same road as websites like Reddit, who thrive on upvotes and downvotes to determine popular content. On Facebook, everything is on an even playing field. Also, according to Zuckerberg, it’s actually kind of complicated to make such a simple feature, so there’s no specific release date set yet.

Now, let’s be clear. The use of this button isn’t, and shouldn’t, be for bullying or any kind of negativity. It’s more for those instances when someone posts something sad and you want to show some sympathy —in these cases it’s always kind of awkward to “like” a bummer status.  Now, you can send an electronic sympathy pat on the shoulder.

Specifically, Zuckerberg mentioned things like the refugee crisis as posts you would want to dislike. This opens up the road for a different kind of Facebook activism, as well as things like voting and getting quick and easy poll numbers for any number of issues.

When exactly will we be able to use this Facebook feature? Not quite yet. Zuckerberg stated, “We have an idea that we’re going to be ready to test soon, and depending on how that does, we’ll roll out it more broadly.”

How many times can I hit “like” until this update happens?

(Image via iStock)