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A 'Dislike' Button Is In The Works At Facebook And People Can't Wait

by Gillian Fuller
Getty

One important question has plagued mankind since the dawn of time: Why the f*ck doesn't Facebook have a "dislike" button?

Well, my friends, the day has finally come.

During a company "town hall" meeting earlier today, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced the "dislike" button's imminent arrival. Cue the applause.

The tech mogul explained,

People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it and are very close to shipping a test of it.
Not every moment is a good moment. If you share something that touches you or a family member passes away, it may not be comfortable to 'like' the post… I do think it's important to give people more options than liking it.

According to reports, the new feature won't be strictly for "disliking" posts, but rather, designed to allow users to express their empathy on sad, troubling or otherwise unhappy photos, posts and status updates.

What, exactly, the new button will be remains a mystery; Zuckerberg, however, did clarify that it won't be anything expressly negative. A button that allows users to outright "dislike" a post or photo could be problematic, Zuckerberg said, as it would essentially create a voting system for people to determine whether or not a post has any “social valu[e].”

So before you get your hopes up, know you won't be able to insult your boyfriend's ex by “disliking” her selfies — for that, you'll have to use your words.

No word yet on when the new feature drops, so keep your eyes peeled, stay tuned and update your Facebook app often.

Citations: Facebook Is Finally Working on a Dislike Button (Cosmopolitan)