The news that Facebook was introducing something other than a “like” button took the media by storm. Countless outlets ran stories announcing that Facebook was introducing a “dislike” button. That was just one of many myths that abound about Facebook. What Facebook is actually doing is trialling a series of emotive responses in a few locations around the world.

The Emotive Buttons

With the new emotive buttons, rather than a single reaction — the like — you are able to respond in six different ways: Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry.
These reactions are clearly carefully chosen. This isn’t the up- or down-voting you find on sites like Reddit.

Reacting with the “Angry” emotive doesn’t necessarily mean you’re angry at the person, but instead that the content they’ve posted upsets you. Although you could still start a flamewar if you really wanted, the way the emotive reactions are introduced makes the focus on the content and the person reacting, rather than on the person causing the reaction. It’s a way to show empathy rather than anything else.

Likes Are Still the Most Popular Reaction

Although Facebook only introduced the emotive reactions a few weeks ago, they have some way to go before they replace likes.

I hope facebook gives us dislike button.