I understand that Facebook is trying to show they are listening to their customers, but I believe this can turn out to be a bad idea.
One reason this is a bad idea is not all Facebook users are mature enough to understand the reasoning behind the dislike button. The purpose of the dislike button is just like the like button. If a person agrees with one of their friends post, they hit the like button, if the person disagrees they can hit the dislike button. The button I believe is to be like a debate button. People can show their opinions with out having to put it in a comment. However, people will dislike a post on someone just to be mean and dislike it.
Another reason is some people might not want to see a notification pop up and say someone disliked your post. The post could be something personal and had much thought put into the post. Basically, people could interpret the dislike button the wrong way. Does that sound familiar? It should because it is a topic, which has come up a bit with texting. People will not understand the emotion behind the dislike. A person can dislike your post because they agree with you about disliking the same topic in the post or to show empathy about what was said. The person whose post was just dislike, might not think that. They could think the person disagrees and wanted to hurt their feelings, which in turn will cause problems between friendships.
I know the dislike button still needs to be tested, but I do not think Facebook should go through with it. Just leave the like button and that's it. If a person disagrees or does not like the post, they can ignore the post and or message the person privately so the fight is not all over in the public view on Facebook.
Jessica- I also chose to write a blog post this week about Facebook’s decision to add a ‘dislike’ button to their platform. The dislike button has been the most wanted feature on Facebook for years and now that it is a possibility, I am starting to have mixed feelings. I think it is great that Facebook is listening to their audience and trying to accommodate users needs but I also think the dislike button has the potential to be a dangerous feature. Like you said, some users will use the dislike button just to be cruel. If someone truly dislikes a post, there are better ways to handle the situation than to dislike it. We will have to wait and see if Facebook goes through with their latest development plan.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that Facebook is going to try a dislike button. The dislike button sounds like a good idea on paper, but it might actually cause problems for certain users. People can have very different viewpoints regarding the meaning of the button. Some may think that it should be used to show empathy in a situation and others will use it to show dislike for a specific person. For instance, if they don't like a particular person, they may dislike many of their posts. Facebook is used by a variety of users with differing levels of maturity. Because of this, the dislike button may cause controversy and problems for many individuals. Overall, the dislike button is an interesting idea. I am looking forward to seeing where the dislike button stands at the end of testing and development.
I find the dislike button problematic for users. Users thrive on responses from friends. If a post is unpopular or unreached than the user will be simply ignored. With the possibility to be put-down rather than have no response, users will be more wary to post material. I think that it's nice to be listening to user's advice for additions, but like you said, it should be put to test before being put-up.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the points you make are valid. I think there will be miscommunication and hard feelings that go along with this idea of a dislike button. I also think that individuals who already feel like certain people may not like them will feel even worse if that individuals dislikes something. A singular button makes it so hard to really say what you feel.
ReplyDelete