Facebook is introducing a new feature for users and this time, it’s really cool!
How many times has a friend updated you on Facebook of something sad (“Mom is not doing well, I’m really worried about her.”) or something that just isn’t a good thing (“Got pulled over today, UGH!”) and your only option is to “like” that post? You don’t “like” that your loved one’s mom is ill or that your friend was pulled over, so “like” doesn’t feel appropriate, but you want to let your Facebook friend know that you saw the post. What to do?
On the other hand, how many times have you seen a great post or meme from a Facebook friend that you want to “love” or otherwise let them know you more than “like” that post (“Here are pics of the new baby! Isn’t she gorgeous?!” or “Guess who’s graduating? Me!”)?
Now you’ll have the option to “like,” “love,” laugh with a “haha,” say “yay!” or “wow,” or express sadness or anger by just clicking a button under the post. While most of Facebook’s endlessly evolving changes are frustrating and met with dislike from users, this is an awesome and much-needed change. The new reaction emojis premiered this morning, and I give them a big thumbs-up. Or should I say…
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
Calls for the “reaction emojis” from Facebook users have been coming in for a long time. USA Today reports that:
“By popular demand, Facebook is going beyond the ubiquitous thumbs-up button with a new shorthand to express your thoughts and feelings.
Acknowledging that “like” isn’t the right sentiment for every occasion, the giant social network is offering new options. Reactions, five emoting emojis, are rolling out to Facebook’s more than 1.5 billion users around the globe starting Wednesday.
With a click of a button, you can choose from new emotions when commenting on a status update. Hold the “like” button on mobile or hover over the like button on desktop and five animated emoji pop up. Tap on love, haha, wow, sad or angry to express your reaction. Posts in News Feed will now show a tally of the reactions — how many loves, how many wows — a post gets.”
