A Thumbs Up for Thumbs Down

-
The idea of a dislike button has been around as long as Facebook has been around, and folks have also been asking for one for the same amount of time. However this movement is now gaining some traction. With the growth of of social media there will undoubtedly be comments and posts that aren’t welcome. As individuals we can comment and report but other than that it is up to the platform to police these posts. However with a dislike button or a thumbs down like what YouTube utilizes could be a game changer.

However with great power comes great responsibility, the dislike button could be a very threatening and aggressive aspect of the social media platform and i think that is probably the hold up with the addition of this feature to all of the platforms.  

The main issue with the addition of a dislike or down vote feature to any and all platforms that don’t already have the feature in my eyes at least is that the feature offers a pathway for bullying and hate. While those obviously are not the intended uses of the feature in today’s world it likely will be used for that reason among younger folks. However it also has a very useful and meaningful purpose.
However the pros are kind of interesting, the thumbs down option gives the users some power that they never had before. Yes people have always had the option to comment back but that would often almost exclusively result in an argument that really didn’t get anything accomplished. The addition of this feature could likely change the dynamic of comments and how people deal with hate and negativity on social media. As well as how a platform may police their own site.


Do I think Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram will add a dislike button anytime soon? No not at all I think the spectrum of media available someone will always disagree with and thus down vote or dislike it. The Cons obviously outweigh the pros but the idea and some of the pros are very compelling, the thumbs down button will be sticking just to YouTube for the time being and the question of will it ever come and will it be used wisely will always be floating around.

Comments

  1. David J. GormanFebruary 12, 2019 at 8:50 AM

    I agree on your opinion of what the dislike or disapprove button will do on a hate or bullying standpoint. I feel like it is not a good idea because with that hate, it could lead to users deleting their profiles and not using that platform any longer.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

-
This week Max Weese and I had the pleasure of interviewing Ohio Northern Men's Lacrosse Head Coach Nat St. Laurent and assistant Coach Chris Rossie , They tag team the social media for the team. Coach St. runs the Twitter and Coach Rossie runs the Instagram, they each offered interesting perspectives on how they utilize different platforms and their opinions on them. Give our podcast a listen we hope you enjoy.
Read more

Social Media for Strategic Communication Recap

-
Image
As the semester starts to come to an end and as we finish Karen Freburg's  text book Social Media for Strategic Communication I think it would be good to recap and look back as some things that I learned and things I found interesting in her book.  Karen's book covered a wide range of different topics all somewhat related to social media, from do's and don't's of content creation to the best ways to pay for your advertisements on social media. The amount of information covered in this book is very impressive, if you have a question about social media any facet of social media you can likely find the answer to that question in this book.  I think what I enjoyed most about the readings we had to do for class were the interviews at the beginning of every chapter. I found it very interesting the different routes and ways social media professionals have gotten into the positions they are currently in. It seems as if most if not all social media professionals did not e
Read more

Fake News in Sri Lanka

-
Image
After the horrible events that transpired in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday there is a temporary block of many social media sites in an effort to stop the spread of fake or inaccurate news. This was first discovered by a group that monitors internet censorship when they came across this new blockage of content. When asked about the block the Sri Lankan government both claims that the social media blackout was their doing and explains  their reasoning behind their doings. The Sri Lankan government blocked social media for what I think is a very good reason. That reason being the attempt to stop the premature spread of fake and or fraudulent news. The issue that is fake news has become a much larger issue than ever before making it very difficult for the readers, listeners, and watchers to know what is accurate and inaccurate.  I think that the Sri Lankan government blocking social media in and out of their country is a very good idea, it limits the possible sources of fake news availab
Read more