I have been much conflicted about the need for a ‘dislike’ button on Facebook and my curiosity was stirred by the 2015 controversy over the effects of such an option on expressing opinions, posting, and interacting with others on the social media platform. I am still conflicted as to the possibility for abusing the choice of ‘dislike’ on Facebook, but I have come to the conclusion that a ‘Dislike’ button can do more good than harm nowadays. A lot has been happening around us, and 2020 has been a year of loss and radical change, not least because of the coronavirus pandemic, Brexit, and the turbulent presidential shift in the USA, among many others. 2021 is also proving to be ominous, and amidst all the chaos, social media is there to disseminate news and influence opinion. In my view, a ‘dislike’ button can offer Facebook users more options regarding their reaction to posts. I feel that the current choice of ‘Angry’ and ‘sad’ does not really cut it. Facebook, as Andrew Hutchinson observes, experimented in 2018 with ‘an upvote / downvote option for comments’, which was removed after a few weeks, but the company’s continuous urge to develop more diversity in reactions clearly shows that for many years Facebook has considered including such an option as part of the platform, before dismissing it as viable in itself (see Felicity Morse, BBC). As of now, there is no appropriate choice for disliking an argument on Facebook, whereas a choice like ‘dislike’ or, even better, ‘contest’, demonstrates a position of disagreement so much more effectively than the other options mentioned above. Rather than the more emotional ‘angry’, which can be a bit aggressive and limiting, a choice like ‘dislike’ or ‘contest’ can let Facebook users know how many people agree or disagree, like or dislike a post, and give users themselves more options. There is a very solid argument against the ‘dislike’ button, which has to do with the dangers of ‘negativity’. Brian Barrett acknowledges this when he mentions Facebook’s year-long search for more diversified button choices, including a voting down option offered by such platforms as Reddit and Hacker News. Barrett rightly says that a ‘dislike’ option can create ‘complications’, as it could be read as an indictment of the person posting, or of the article being shared, rather than its subject’. More importantly, it can be abused by users for ‘trolling’, as Felicity Morse correctly adds. A ‘dislike’ button can promote insensitivity and can help in hurting people’s feelings. Barrett proposes a ‘neutral’ button as what Facebook needs, but, in my view, neutrality may encourage / represent passivity and not active engagement with the feed on Facebook. However, the fact that an option can be abused by users does not mean that users should not be given the chance to express their disagreement / dislike for a post or a piece of news. The ‘dislike’ or ‘contest’ button does not by itself lead to misrepresentation as the once offered ‘feeling fat’ feelings option did. Morse refers to this choice of a ‘double-chinned emoji’ which misrepresented fatness as a feeling and which created a lot of stir and eventually had to be removed by July 2014. A ‘dislike’ button, on the other hand, gives users the opportunity to react to something in a different way, thus more realistically expressing their own views. Hutchinson refers us to Reddit user Jamie Tallica who offers a very important real-life example: "Imagine being a generally ignorant, racist, bigoted idiot and commenting something obscene online? You might post a comment that really offends 18,000 out of 20,000 people, but it shows 2k likes from like-minded idiots. This sends out the wrong message - this tells people who are just passing that the opinion is popular, there's a lack of balance without the effort of commenting and getting involved in a spat. Add a dislike function and suddenly the comment has 2k likes, but 18k dislikes, which tells people that this is an unpopular viewpoint and might make people think twice about what they say, or take a rain check on their attitudes." The influence of social media is ginormous, so the perception of what is posted is hugely important and should be conditioned by a more holistic exposure to the reaction something elicits. This is the reason I believe that the advantages considerably outweigh the disadvantages, which are also a reality and should not be underestimated. Works Cited Barrett, Brian, ‘Facebook Doesn't Need (Or Even Want) a Dislike Button’ (2015) <https://www.wired.com/2015/09/facebook-dislike-button/> [accessed 26 January 2021]. Hutchinson, Andrew, ‘Would a 'Dislike' Option Improve Facebook?’ (2019) <https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/would-a-dislike-option-improve-facebook/548052/> [accessed 26 January 2021]. Morse, Felicity, ‘Facebook dislike button: a short history’ (2015) <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-34269663> [accessed 26 January 2021].

Adding a 'dislike' button would not benefit Facebook. It would diminish it. There's already a lot of negativity on the website. And it's not because there are users posting mean things about other user's content. Some of the negativity on the internet is over sad and regretful things that have happened. Sometimes people post on Facebook the passing of a relative. While it can be difficult to imagine anyone clicking 'dislike' on a post that laments the loss of a relative, adding a 'dislike' button would allow the opportunity for it. Nearly every YouTube video I have ever seen has at least a few dislikes. Even the most heartwarming and saddening videos raise more dislikes as more users view them. The point of a 'dislike' button is call online users out for spreading malicious information. Yes, of course users should be called out for spreading misinformation that could lead to violence. I'd go so far to promote they should be barred from the social media site they posted the information on. But adding a 'dislike' button would not help the issue. Users would more sensitive than what they post. They would feel that Facebook would become a site to be judged by people they do not even know based on what they post. Facebook is meant to be a social media site for users to interact with other users across the globe and post updates on their current status. True, people take advantage of the site to post their political views even if they are hateful. However, users would be more incentivized to hitting a 'dislike' button than to air their disagreements with a post. A 'dislike' button would feel easier to a lot of users to voice their disapproval of a post than to comment on why they disagree. The 'dislike' button would not make the users more active with Facebook. It would make them less proficient. Brian Barrett said it best when discussing the issue, which is that adding a 'dislike' button 'would instantly turn Facebook into a place where people can expect to feel bad about themselves" (Barrett, Wired). If Facebook's users start feeling absorbed by negativity, then users would start to leave Facebook. And as it has already been apparent, (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-we-know-were-bad-for-your-mental-health-heres-how-to-fix-it/) Facebook is already tied up with controversies that drive users away from the platform. CITATIONS: Barrett, Brian. “Facebook Doesn’t Need (Or Even Want) a Dislike Button.” Wired, 30 June 2017, www.wired.com/2015/09/facebook-dislike-button. Linton, Caroline. “Facebook: We Know We’re Bad for Your Mental Health, Here’s How to Fix It.” CBS News, 20 Dec. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-we-know-were-bad-for-your-mental-health-heres-how-to-fix-it.