Facebook's New 'Reactions' Feature Launches to Mixed Reviews
Alex Whittler, CBS 2 Intern
CHICAGO (CBS) — How many times does a friend post something on Facebook you can relate to, but "liking" it wouldn't convey the right feeling?
Today the social network released a new way to express emotions. Now, along with "like," you can select "Love," "Haha," "Wow," "Sad," or "Angry" for a post.
They're called Facebook reactions and they're aimed at making quick online interactions more authentic.
To see the new emoticons, hover over the "like" button on a Facebook post. The other options then appear.
Users have been asking for a "dislike" button for a while. This appears to be Facebook's response.
According to Tech Insider, Facebook reactions had been only available in seven countries: Ireland, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Colombia and the Philippines for the past few months. Now the feature is global.
Not everyone is happy about the change. "I find them a bit odd and distracting," says Chicagoan David Quinn.
Tracey Becker disagrees, "I love them. I have always hated clicking "like" on a horrible topic."
The change comes after Twitter modified its "favorite" capability from a star to a heart icon in November. This too was met with mixed reviews.
