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As a response to user feedback and widespread interest in a button that can express more than a thumbs up, Facebook overhauls ‘Like’ button with 6 cute emojis. The new feature which is called ‘Reactions’ will be tested first in Europe before the site’s management decides to implement it worldwide.
So, if you live in Ireland or Spain expect to be able to express more emotions about what you see on a post including laughter, love, extreme surprise, happiness, anger or sorrow through a set of emojis that may bring cuteness to a whole new level.
When asked why the company chose those two countries of all the countries in the world, Facebook’s Adam Mosseri said that the population there uses Facebook on a daily basis and many users have friends from other countries as well. So testing the product there was the right thing to do. Moreover, Ireland is an English speaking country, while Spain may tell the company how non-English speaking people react to ‘Reactions.’
The announcement was indirectly made last month, when rumor had it that the social networking site was working on a ‘dislike’ button. Well, that didn’t happen, but it did happen a revamp of the ‘like’ button with 6 new emojis.
Yet, the move is not new. Buzzfeed and Path allow their users to use emojis since 2012. Additionally, online users are accustomed with the use of emojis from the IM emoticons. And the tiny animations tell more about the users’ reactions than a simple like or follow.
Facebook said that it would roll out the new feature for desktop and mobile apps and would appear across the entire News Feed section regardless of the source of the feed. So, far the company was quiet on whether it would insert the emojis in its Messenger or other services such as Instagram.
The emojis pop-up when you hover the mouse over the like button if you are a desktop user, or when you click the like button if you use a mobile app.
But the news that Facebook overhauls ‘Like’ button with 6 cute emojis was no surprise, since many users had demanded an alternative to the powerful like button lsuch as a button to express shock when there’s a piece of shocking news, for instance.
Additionally, there is a growing trend among Facebook users to use simple and short responses to a particular post, especially since mobile apps on some devices do not allow people to quickly type in an elaborate answer. For example, some of the platform’s users are already using Stickers as an alternative to the like button.
Image Source: Wikipedia
