Brace yourselves: the Facebook “Dislike” button is coming.
Despite previously saying the social network wasn’t planning to build a “dislike” button, CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed during a Tuesday Q&A session that his company has indeed been working on one.
“I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years,” Zuckerberg said. “Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.”
The exact form a “Dislike” button may take is still up in the air. “What [users] really want is the ability to express empathy,” Zuckerberg added. “Not every moment is a good moment.”
Facebook has long shied away from building a “Dislike” button over concerns it would invite rampant negativity. “That isn’t what we’re here to build in the world,” Zuckerberg said.
This Is What Your Facebook Profile Looked Like Over the Last 11 Years
The Original Facebook Group Page, 2004. Before people realized how awesome pictures are.Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2005. Back when Facebook looked a little bit like MySpace. Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page Facelift, 2005. The "the" is finally dropped.Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2006. You no longer need to be reminded "this is you" at the top of your profile page.Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2007. Every profile update still had to begin with "is," forcing you to talk about yourself in the third person.
Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2008. The wall.
Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2009. It only took five years for Facebook to create easy-to-find privacy settings.
Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2010. Facebook starts to get pretty.
Courtesy of FacebookFacebook Profile Page, 2011. Zuckerberg realizes that people love pictures, usually of animals.Courtesy of Facebook Facebook Profile Page, 2012. The timeline allows you (or your parents) to trace your life from birth to death.Courtesy of Facebook Facebook Profile Page, 2013-2014. Facebook introduced a new app, Paper, on Monday.Courtesy of Facebook Facebook Profile Page, 2014-2015. Facebook updated both the newsfeed algorithm and the privacy settings.Courtesy of Alex Fitzpatrick/Facebook
