Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on ‘dislike’ button: ‘We’re thinking about it’

Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has seen a rise in fame and easily became the largest social media network in the world.

 

However, Facebook users have long been wondering why a “dislike” button which seems to be a more appropriate reaction to certain posts was never added by the management. 

 

In a 50-second video on his page, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that a “dislike” button or something similar is indeed needed on the popular social media platform.

 

“We're thinking about it. On the dislike button... there are more sentiments that people want to express than just positivity or that they like something,” Zuckerberg admitted.

 

According to him, the “like” button which has been Facebook's main social mingling tool is a powerful way to pass on positivity around the community.

 

“The like button is really valuable because it's a way for you to very quickly express a positive emotion or sentiment when someone puts themselves out there and shares something,” he said.

 

But it's not always appropriate.

 

“A lot of times people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives or are tough, cultural or social things and often people tell us that they don't feel comfortable pressing 'like' because 'like' isn't the appropriate sentiment when someone lost a loved one or is talking of a very difficult issue,” he said.

 

“And I think giving people the power to do that in more ways with more emotions would be more powerful. But we need to figure out the right way to do it so that it ends up being a force for good and not a force for bad and demeaning the post that people are putting out there,” he added.

 

Zuckerberg's statement was recorded during a town hall-style question-and-answer session at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, California. —Andrei Medina/KG, GMA News