It seems that ever since Facebook introduced the ‘like’ button, well over a year ago, people have been clamoring for a similar ‘dislike’ button. As of recently, the desire for such a feature has picked up steam, at least amongst my friends, and I deem that to be an accurate cross-section of the entire Facebook population. Like many things, however, folks have not thought this feature completely through! I’m going to tell you why a ‘Dislike’ button is a bad, horrible idea.
The ‘like’ button serves as simple mechanism to acknowledge your friends’ activity on Facebook that saves one the trouble of having to write out generic comments like ‘cool,’ ‘yea,’ and ‘I agree’ et al. At a glance, the ‘dislike’ button would serve as a similar tool, allowing you to playfully acknowledge your friend’s post without ‘approving’ of it. The scenarios people imagine using a ‘dislike’ button are simple and innocent, for example think of your friend posting ‘Go Yankees!’ and you being a red sox fan can just click ‘dislike.’ The problem is that usage will not always be playful and simple.
People in favor of a ‘dislike’ button are not taking human emotion into account and that is VERY dangerous. Agreeing with someone or something can be passive, and that’s why the ‘like’ button works so well. Open disagreement and contradiction can rarely be dispassionate. Think of the last anti-abortion or anti-war rally you were unfortunate enough to witness, people who agree can just drive by and honk and carry on with their lives, essentially clicking the ‘like’ button on the rally. Were the people who decided to openly disagree quite so civil? Of course not! There were shouting matches, yelling, and throwing of stuff, the ‘dislike’ button failed!
You’re probably thinking to yourself: ‘AK, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?’ Am I now? While the ‘like’ button allows you to in a sense nourish your relationship, the ‘dislike’ button could disastrously tear people apart! It won’t always be you ‘disliking’ my “I am really horny” status message, it could get much worse. Here’s a far likelier scenario: think of the friend you have that all they do is post about their bf or gf, and we all have one, and let’s say one day they post something along the lines of ‘Sebastian wants to go watch the game, but I’m too tired.’ Say you don’t like the idea of your friend being dragged somewhere by her boyfriend, so you click ‘dislike,’ end of story, right? Or so you thought. Next thing you know Isabella no longer wants to talk to you because she thinks that you’re a bitch who is bitter about not having a boyfriend and that’s why you don’t like Sebastian. You don’t think that can happen? Or even worse, say you don’t like a picture because it’s literally a bad picture, poor composition and out of focus, so you click ‘dislike.’ The next thing you know, the poster will feel offended because you didn’t like the picture of her baby. This is going to happen, trust me!
Let’s face it, the destructive potential of the ‘dislike’ button is not worth it. If you dislike or disapprove a post, do what I do and move on with your life, or if you REALLY want to express yourself, take the time to write your comment out! The ‘like’ button is simple and builds relationships, the ‘dislike’ button is a Pandora’s box waiting to be opened. Please think it through and stop supporting the ‘dislike’ button, it is a terrible idea. You’ll thank me later.
Your American Hero,
-AK
