{"id":45319,"date":"2015-09-22T05:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-09-22T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mcafee.com\/?p=45319"},"modified":"2025-08-27T02:41:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T09:41:21","slug":"facebook-get-dislike-button-parents-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/family-safety\/facebook-get-dislike-button-parents-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Facebook Get a \u2018Dislike\u2019 Button? Why Parents Ought to Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s revived discussion in the halls of Facebook about adding a \u2018dislike\u2019 button to the popular social network. In fact, the dislike button is more of a reality than not, according to a recent report in Beta News.<\/a><\/p>\n

While the Facebook team has long noticed the gap in expression options on network (who doesn’t feel strange liking a post about a missing child?) the addition of a \u2018dislike’ button may divide us even more. And, in the case of teens, it could be just one more way to crash and burn emotionally.<\/p>\n

Think I\u2019m overreacting? Mention a \u2018dislike\u2019 button to a group of teens and you will hear immediate snickers and muffled expressions of joy. It’s the button some teens (and adults) have been waiting, if not aching for. It makes sense that if collecting a lot of likes<\/a> can put a teen\u2019s self-esteem and mood on the upswing, then attracting as many \u2018dislikes\u2019 can make that same mood plummet. Not welcome news in light of more and more studies<\/a> connecting social media habits to depression in teens.<\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0study\u00a0affirms teens\u2019 shaky digital perspective: 61% of 13-16 year-old boys and girls stated that the number of \u2018likes\u2019 or \u2018favorites\u2019 on a social media post matter to them. In fact, 28% of girls and 21% of boys (8-12 year-olds) say that 25-50 \u2018likes\u2019 or \u2018favorites\u2019 make them feel happy.<\/p>\n

But, as Dr. Phil says, there are two sides to every pancake, and indeed, there are some positives to adding a \u2018dislike\u2019 button. From a marketing and algorithm point of view, each dislike could reduce certain types of content from showing up in your feed much like Pandora, StumbleUpon or Reddit. So, if you dislike the close-ups of people proudly displaying their wounds with fresh stitches, then curating your content via a \u2018dislike\u2019 button could reduce those nauseating posts. That\u2019s cool. However, that same data mining also may apply to the niche and quantity of ads in your feed. Also, a \u2018dislike\u2019 would cater to those Facebook fans who can\u2019t wait to give their \u2018dislike\u2019 to offensive content (personally, I just hide those feeds or defriend if content is consistently rude.)<\/p>\n

The downside of a \u2018dislike\u2019 button for families:<\/strong><\/h2>\n