Say Hello To Reactions... The New 'Like' Button That Will Change The Way You Use Facebook

Facebook has unveiled 'Reactions', the updated 'Like' feature that lets you 'Love', 'Haha,' 'Wow', 'Sad' and 'Angry'.

From today forwards, you no longer just 'like' something on Facebook. Oh no, you 'react' to it, thanks to a new 'Reactions' feature, which features five 'Love', 'Haha,' 'Wow', 'Sad' and 'Angry' buttons.

Rolling out globally, the new feature has a range of different expressions and was brought into Facebook after users believed the 'Like' button was just too constraining. After all, how are you supposed to 'like' a sad post?

Exactly.

But Mark Zuckerberg took the criticism on board, and responded by making these adorable emoticons...

Source: Buzzfeed.com

In an interview with Bloomberg Business, the site's chief product officer, Chris Cox, explained that you can now, 'love something, you can be sad about something, you can laugh out loud at something,' he said. 'We know on phones people don’t like to use keyboards and we also know that the like button does not always let you say what you want.’

Whenever Facebook announces an update or new feature, there is normally collective rage, despair and anger. But this latest tweak has the Internet in ubiquitious delight, with testers already picking 'Love' as their main reaction to posts.

And as with all Facebook features, it’s easy to use: just hover or long-press the Like button, and select your preferred emoticon. The status will then detail how many shocks, loves, laughters and other emotions you have totalled.

Just a few months ago, Mark Zuckerberg said the company was finally working on a Dislike button after years of pleas for users – but this looks like a healthier alternative to a straight-up negative button, which will help people show empathy, but not deride each other’s posts.

Cox said in October: ‘As you can see, it's not a “dislike” button, though we hope it addresses the spirit of this request more broadly.’

Zuckerberg initially announced the news on Facebook (where else?), writing: ‘Today we're launching a test of Reactions -- a more expressive Like button.

'The Like button has been a part of Facebook for a long time. Billions of Likes are made every day, and Liking things is a simple way to express yourself. For many years though, people have asked us to add a "dislike" button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself.'

He added: 'At a recent Townhall Q&A, I shared with our community that we've spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to give you better options for expressing yourself, while keeping the experience simple and respectful. Today we're starting to test this.'

'Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It's not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy -- in addition to delight and warmth. You’ll be able to express these reactions by long pressing or hovering over the Like button... We’re starting to test Reactions in Ireland and Spain and will learn from this before we bring the experience to everyone. We hope you like this – or can better express how you’re feeling!’

Facebook also revealed that they tested out a 'Yay' and 'Confused' button as well, though they didn't make the cut.

See how you can use Reactions for yourself in the video below...

In other Facebook news, a report finally indicates how much we are all worth to the social media giant. The report for earnings in the fourth quarter show that North Americans and Canadians are worth the most, at $13.54 per person - but everyone outside the region is worth far less.

Europeans are worth $4.50, those living in the Asia Pacific region are worth $1.59 and people living everywhere else are worth $1.22.

The report also showed that a staggering 1.59 billion people use Facebook every month - over half of the world's 3.2 billion internet users.