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In 2015, Twitter substituted the star-shaped "Favorites" icon for a heart-shaped "Like" icon, which is still used today, and will be, for a while longer. In the future, though, Twitter intends to remove the "Heart" icon as well, reportedly in a bid to "improve the quality of debate" on the social platform.

According to a new report by the Telegraph, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted at an event last week that he was "not a fan of the heart-shaped button" and that the company would be removing it "soon."

Dorsey's position has left many Twitter users surprised, as liking is one of the core functions of every social network. The company, however, claims that the heart-shaped button may be the source of "social media addiction" among users who crave endorsement from their peers. This has led to a phenomenon where people would share something on social media, only to delete it shortly thereafter if their post doesn't receive enough likes.

In a bid to change this, Twitter earlier this year introduced “bookmarks” – a feature that allows users to privately save tweets and that's likely going to supersede the current like system. A Twitter spokesman said in a Telegraph interview that the company is "experimenting and considering numerous possible changes, all with an eye toward ensuring we're incentivising the right behaviors to drive healthy conversation."

This move comes hardly as a surprise, as Twitter CEO has been quite vocal in recent weeks about his attitude toward the current like button. There is no confirmation as yet on when the change will come into effect, but it will likely happen sooner rather than later.

So, the move is to force users to post more comments?

Originally Posted by captainthor

So, the move is to force users to post more comments?

Basically. All this would do is instead of a simple button to show you enjoy or agree you'd have to post a comment that adds nothing to the discussion, basically just posting a comment with the word "like". Without a complete redesign not only on the social network itself but also changing how every user who interacts with the site uses the site, I don't see how this move benefits anyone. It will only confuse and obfuscate current discussion.

That being said, there are very few actual discussions that I come across on Twitter that feel like they are worthwhile uses of anyone's time.