Change may be coming to Facebook—but this time you're going to like it! (Just kidding, you'll probably hate it because you hate all change and then you'll bitch about it in your status and join that FB page demanding that Facebook go back to the old layout.)
Facebook might add a "Sympathize" button, an alternative to the "Like" button.
Employee Dan Muriello says, "It would be, 'Five people sympathize with this,' instead of 'Five people 'like' this.'...But we made a decision that it was not exactly the right time to launch that product. Yet."
The "Sympathize" button came out of Facebook's recent Hackathon, an event where staffers brainstorm new ideas for the site. The button would replace the "Like" button when someone selected a negative emotion (like "sad" or "depressed") from a preset list of emotions.
Here are a few occasions where the "Sympathize" button may be appropriate:
When someone posts about a death in the family
When someone posts about being fired
When someone posts about a breakup
When someone gets in a car accident
When someone gets robbed
When someone posts about having a bad day
Etc.
Seems like a fine enough idea, right? No. It does not.
We are anti-"Sympathize" button for a number of reasons. First, because "Sympathize" is not an additional option. It replaces the "Like" button. What if you're actually happy that breakup happened?
Hey fellas, those random dudes who like your ex-girlfriend's breakup status aren't doing it because they sympathize with her. They're doing it because you got duuuumped and now they're going after that booty.
Secondly, because we have a better option: When someone is posting an "~*RIP Grandma!*~" status or whining about their bad day, a message pops up that asks, "It looks like you're being a huge bummer! Are you sure you want to post that?" If you click "Yes," it asks, "Are you sure?" over and over again until you delete your Facebook account.
We understand that sometimes you want to or feel the need to share news with others. But some things are more appropriate to share person to person. Hell, at least send a mass text.