Facebook adding a 'Dislike' feature soon

Ever felt awkward hitting "Like" on a Facebook status about a loss of a family member or pet, but don't feel committed enough to say something in the comments and yet want to show your support? (Social media can put us in very tricky situations, doesn't it?) Facebook is about to change that. Mashable reports that following years of lobbying for such a thing to exist, Facebook is finally working on what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls a "Dislike" button. However, he said that it's not an avenue to spread the hate, but instead, a way for users to express their emotions other than the positive "I like that!" vote via the "Like" button.

"People have asked about the 'dislike' button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it," said Zuckerberg.

"What they really want is the ability to express empathy. Not every moment is a good moment," he added.

Mashable reports that in another town hall meeting in December, Zuckerberg said, "We need to figure out the right way to do it so it ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad. Everyone feels like they can just push the Like button, and that's an important way to sympathize or empathize with someone. But there are times when you may want the simplicity of a one-click response but a 'like' doesn't feel appropriate."

TIME also reports that according to Zuckerberg, "If you’re expressing something sad . . . it may not feel comfortable to ‘like’ that post, but your friends and people want to be able to express that they understand."

Additionally, Mashable reports that according to the Facebook CEO, the "Like" and "Dislike" functions won't be like such in Reddit, wherein people can "downvote" posts. What users can hopefully get out of the new function is better curated news feeds, with things that actually matter to them, and of course, in order for Facebook to earn money, keep their clients coming back to the site and clicking away on links.

TIME reports that according to News Feed Product Management Director Adam Mosseri, "If people find things that they find meaningful and they learn from them, then they’ll be more likely to stay with us in the long run."