Bean Blog

Plain and simple:

Because you’d use it.



There have been a rash of attempts to get a ‘Dislike’ button on Facebook, resulting in popular fan pages, third-party attempts to modify Facebook, and even a widespread scam.



But first, why do we even want a ‘Dislike’ button? Because, of course, in real-life we simply DON’T ‘Like’ everything. And how bad could it be? After all, bad reviews don’t necessarily hurt companies. In fact, they can even increase sales. So wouldn’t a ‘Dislike’ button be the same thing but in a social context?



Here in the DC area, you can probably find nearly as many Dallas Cowboys fans as Redskins fans. Why? Well, certainly not because Dallas is close by, and not because there are so many Dallas transplants in town. My admittedly biased opinion, being a Redskins fan, is that local Cowboys fans are exercising a lifelong, personal ‘Dislike’ button to the Washington norm, saying essentially, “No, I am not with you; I am against you.”



We live in a world where there is a long-standing Anger Industry, spurring us to ‘Dislike’ lots of things. The left dislikes the right, and vice versa, and plenty of cable news shows are happy to stir up either side (or both simultaneously), either to support an agenda, or simply get ratings, or both. Real-life is filled with people disliking other people, and encouraging others to do so as well.



Which is exactly why Facebook doesn’t want a ‘Dislike’ button. People would ‘Dislike’ everything from other people’s political and religious views, to individual statements and probably even the individuals themselves. And that is not what Facebook wants their experience to be.



So what is Facebook trying to do? In basic terms, it is an online social community made up of friends. [Note that we don’t even get to decide whether some are just acquaintances… if we accept each other, we are ‘Friends’. Or, in the case of public figures or organizations, we become ‘Fans’, another very friendly thing to be.] If you get tired of any friend, you don’t hate or shun them, you just unfriend them. Even breaking a social connection is largely quiet and polite. Now imagine a real-life 9-year-old on a playground, shouting angrily “That’s it! I am UNFRIENDING YOU!” Just doesn’t happen.



Which means there is more to the Facebook experience, and it is something intentionally different than real-life: everyone is posting attempts at witty and humorous commentary, playing games, helping each other run farms, sending each other free poker chips… and ‘Liking’ the statements and actions of each other all the time. It’s all very chummy and inclusive. It feels, generally, extremely friendly. You feel good about it, so you spend a lot of time there, and you encourage others to spend a lot of time there. Even if you don’t like what someone said or did, generally you just ‘Hide’ it rather than actively telling them where to get off.



Now what would happen if there was a ‘Dislike’ button…



Imagine a friend updates their status with one of those ‘Post this in your status for at least an hour to say you’re against cancer!!!!’ messages. And you’ve had a bad day, and you’ve seen this message 84 times before, and you think it’s a scam, so you just decide to click ‘Dislike’. Then, your friend writes back a comment like “what, are you FOR cancer?!?” But that isn’t what you meant, so you try to clarify, but someone else ‘Dislikes’ that.



Or the thirteenth time a friend asks you for a tractor part for his farm, even though you’ve told him you don’t even play that game, you ‘Dislike’ it. Your friend who made the request, rather than hearing blissful silence except for the other farmers who help him, now feels a little bit irritated at you.



And another friend becomes a fan of a politician you are morally opposed to, but rather than shrug it off, you start an active campaign to see if you can get 1,000,000 people to ‘Dislike’ the politician and negate their 1,000,000 ‘Fans’. Now, there are 2,000,000 people on Facebook actively opposed to each other.



Rather than having a warm and fuzzy feel, Facebook has turned into a land of disenchantment and divisiveness. One ‘Dislike’ hurts someone’s feelings and prompts a rash of ‘Dislikes’ in retaliation. Then the magic is gone: Facebook loses its feel-good charm. We all start to seriously ‘Dislike’ Facebook itself.



Which is precisely why Facebook won’t (and shouldn’t) make a ‘Dislike’ button… because there is an enemy within.