Possible Facebook 'Hate Button' could lead to cyber bullying

BY PAM LOBLEY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

NOW THAT’S FUNNY

Facebook is considering adding a Hate button to its pages. Would you Like a Hate button? Or would you Hate a Hate button? Or would a Hate button be one of those things that you Like to Hate? Or would you Hate the Like button but … oh, never mind.

TechCrunch reports that debate is raging inside the Facebook offices as to the merits of a Hate button. A huge portion of Facebook’s revenue is attached to the Like button, so a Hate button has the potential to reap even more profits. In general, people tend to hate more things than they like, and supposedly Mark Zuckerberg estimates as many as two billion Hates the first day.

That is just sad. Who’s drinking all that Hatorade?

The company is also considering buttons such as “Meh,” “Who Cares,” and even “Dislike.”

Why stop there? How about “Repulsed,” “Allergic,” “Lukewarm,” “Conscientiously Objecting,” “Marginally Ambivalent,” “Rather Clean my Stovetop” or “Transfixed with Horror?”

Facebook, which calls itself a social network, is now ready to branch out and become an anti-social network. The kids that use — or abuse — the site to be cruel to other teens will have a field day with this button. Do we need to give these kids more ways to bully each other?

And speaking of bullying, it would be very easy for a bunch of people to gang together and Hate certain businesses or products, causing serious financial damage to companies.

I’ve been Liked on Facebook before, and it feels great. I once received 2,700 Likes for a column I wrote and that was fantastic, but what would happen if I got that many Hates? I wouldn’t want to get out of bed.

The Hate button, like actual hate itself, seems like it would do mostly harm and no discernible good. Except make more money for Facebook.

As luck would have it, someone has already created a Hate Button Facebook page. The button isn’t even official yet, and it already has its own page, and get this — the Hate button page has 890 Likes. Perfect.

Pam Lobley writes the “Now That’s Funny” column. Follow her on twitter @plobley.