Facebook reactions allow users to quickly express their feelings towards posts and comments on the platform. Instead of just liking content, users can choose from six preset reactions – Like, Love, Care, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. These expanded reactions give users more ways to share their thoughts and respond to others on Facebook.
When were Facebook reactions introduced?
Facebook first introduced reactions in February 2016. They were launched as an extension of the Like button, which had been the only way for users to react to posts since Facebook’s inception. The company wanted to provide more options for emotional responses and self-expression.
The initial six reactions launched were Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. The Care reaction was added later in May 2017 to provide a way to show empathy and support.
Why did Facebook add reactions?
There were a few reasons why Facebook decided to add reactions:
- To allow for more emotional expression – The Like button was limited in the range of emotions users could convey.
- Increase engagement – Adding more reaction options aimed to get users more actively engaged on posts.
- Compete with other platforms – Other social networks like Twitter had added their own versions of reactions.
- Understand user intent – Reactions provide Facebook with more data on how users feel about content.
How do you use reactions on Facebook?
Using reactions on Facebook is very easy:
- Click or tap on a post or comment that you want to react to. A pop-up will appear with the reaction buttons.
- Click/tap on the reaction icon that expresses how you feel – Like, Love, Care, Haha, Wow, Sad, or Angry.
- The reaction icon will appear below the post or comment and your name will show up under the icon. Others can see and engage with your reaction.
- You can change your reaction anytime by clicking/tapping on a different icon. Your name will move to the new reaction.
What do the different Facebook reactions mean?
Here is a breakdown of what each Facebook reaction is typically used to express:
| Reaction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Like | You enjoy the post or find it interesting. The most generic positive reaction. |
| Love | You really love or enjoy the post. More intense than Like. |
| Care | You want to show empathy, support, or care for the person or cause. |
| Haha | You find the post funny or laughable. |
| Wow | You find the post amazing, surprising, or inspiring. |
| Sad | The post makes you feel sad or disappointed. |
| Angry | The post makes you feel angry or irritated. |
Like
The Like reaction is the most generic positive reaction on Facebook. It indicates you enjoyed the post, found it interesting, or appreciated the content. It doesn’t necessarily mean you “liked” it in the literal sense. The Like button has been around since Facebook’s early days and people are accustomed to using it to acknowledge posts from their friends and family.
Love
The Love reaction is similar to Like, but conveys more intense positive feelings of enjoyment, passion, or enthusiasm. You would use Love instead of Like for content that you really loved, found delightful, or that tugged at your heartstrings. It’s more emotionally evocative.
Care
The Care reaction was introduced to allow people to express empathy, compassion, or support. You can use it to let someone know you care about them or a cause they posted about. It’s especially helpful for posts about sad life events, social issues, sickness, or personal struggles where Like or Love wouldn’t be appropriate but you want to acknowledge the situation with care.
Haha
The Haha reaction is for when a post makes you laugh or is humorous. You can use it for light-hearted jokes, funny memes, amusing videos, or silly content intended to be comedic. It indicates you found the post entertaining, chuckle-worthy, or hilarious.
Wow
The Wow reaction conveys a sense of amazement, surprise, awe, or inspiration. You would use it when a post really wows you with something incredible like a breathtaking photo, an interesting fact that fascinates you, or news that excites you. It shows you found the content striking, impressive, or eye-opening.
Sad
The Sad reaction expresses feelings of sadness, disappointment, concern, regret or dismay. You can use it when a post has sad content, such as news about someone passing away, an unfortunate event, or anything you find disheartening. It demonstrates you empathize with the sad situation.
Angry
The Angry reaction conveys feelings of outrage, irritation, frustration, or disgust. You can use it for content you find offensive, inappropriate, inflammatory, or wrong. Posts with shocking news, upsetting current events, or things you strongly disagree with may warrant an Angry reaction.
How popular are the different Facebook reactions?
The Like reaction is by far the most commonly used. According to Facebook, it makes up for over 80% of reactions on the platform. This is likely because people are so accustomed to Like being the default button.
After Like, the next most popular reactions tend to be Love, Haha, and Sad. Facebook has not provided exact statistics on the breakdown, but based on surveys and user reports, this seems to be the general order:
- Like – 80%+
- Love
- Haha
- Sad
- Wow
- Angry
- Care
The Care reaction gets used the least frequently. However, Facebook found that posts using Care reactions result in higher levels of return engagement compared to the other reactions.
Are reactions more popular than comments?
In many cases, yes – reactions have become more popular than writing comments. According to Facebook data, over 5 billion reactions are tapped daily compared to about 1 billion comments. Reactions provide a low-friction way to quickly interact with posts.
The exception tends to be Page posts from brands and media outlets. These posts get higher comment rates since people often discuss and debate topics more vigorously. But for personal posts between friends, reactions dominate thanks to their simplicity.
Are there any other Facebook reactions besides the main 7?
Facebook has experimented with special temporary reactions at various times. For example, they introduced a COVID-19 Care reaction with a hug icon in 2020. There was also a rainbow Pride reaction. However, these were only available for limited periods.
The main reactions that have persisted since launch are Like, Love, Care, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. It’s unclear if or when Facebook may add additional permanent reactions beyond these core seven.
Can you react to your own posts?
Yes, you are able to react to your own Facebook posts and comments using any of the reactions. Your reaction will display in the same way as if another user had reacted. Some people react to their own content as a way to express an emotion or amplify the post.
However, self-reacting to your own posts too frequently may be seen as odd by some friends. Moderation is advised if you want to avoid looking self-involved.
Can pages and groups enable or disable certain reactions?
Yes. Facebook Page admins and group admins have the ability to limit which reactions can be used on their posts. For example, a Page may want to disable the Angry reaction to avoid negative engagement.
To change post reactions, Pages and groups can go to their Settings > Post Reactions. Here they can uncheck certain reactions to disallow them or only check the reactions they want to permit.
How are reactions used in Messenger?
In addition to posts and comments, you can also react to messages in Messenger conversations using the same set of reactions.
When chatting one-on-one or in a group, tap and hold on a message bubble, then select a reaction from the pop-up. This allows you to quickly react to messages without having to type an entire response.
Reacting can be handy for responding to big group conversations where you want to chime in without cluttering up the chat. It also helps acknowledge messages that don’t need a full reply.
Can you remove a Facebook reaction?
Yes, if you change your mind after reacting to a post, you can easily remove your reaction:
- Go back to the post you originally reacted to
- Click/tap on your reaction icon again
- Your reaction will be undone and your name removed
You can also then pick a different reaction if you want to change emotions. There is no limit on changing or removing reactions.
Do reactions boost engagement for pages?
Yes. While reactions may seem simple, they can help increase engagement and reach for Facebook Pages in multiple ways:
- More reactions increase positivity signals, improving content distribution in the algorithm.
- Reactions make posts stand out more in News Feed compared to just Likes.
- They give followers easy low-friction ways to interact with posts.
- Reactions provide Pages with data to optimize content based on how fans react emotionally.
Overall, enabling reactions is beneficial for brands, businesses, organizations and public figures using Facebook Pages to build their audience.
How do you view all reactions on a post?
When you react to a post, you can only see a few other reactions at a time below the content. However, you can easily view the full list of who reacted and their reaction types:
- Click on the reactions area below the post (where icons are displayed)
- A pop-up will appear showing all users who have reacted
- Click on the different reaction icons at the bottom to filter the list
This lets you scroll through and see the total number of reactions on a post as well as names sorted by reaction type.
Can you react to Facebook ads?
No, Facebook does not allow users to react to ads in their feeds using the preset reactions. The only option for interacting with ads is to click on the ad content to visit the advertiser’s website or Facebook page.
Likely reasons reactions aren’t allowed on ads include:
- Reactions could negatively impact advertising performance metrics and reporting.
- Brands may not want certain negative reactions like Angry associated with their ads.
- Reduces clutter and focus on ad objective of driving clicks.
While users can’t officially react to ads, they can comment on ads if the advertiser has enabled comments. Comments allow users to provide open feedback.
Do reactions work on Facebook mobile apps?
Yes, reactions are fully available across Facebook’s mobile apps for iOS and Android. Users can view and leave reactions in the same way as on the desktop website.
To use reactions on mobile:
- Tap and hold on a post or comment
- A reaction selector pops up
- Tap on the reaction you want to leave
Mobile apps also show notifications when others react to your posts or react to posts you’ve also reacted to.
Are reactions accessible for visually impaired users?
Facebook has made efforts to make reactions inclusive and accessible to those using screen readers or other assistive devices.
When reactions first launched, they were not compatible with tools like screen readers. But Facebook quickly improved the accessibility based on user feedback. Reactions now work seamlessly with technologies like:
- Screen readers – Audio descriptions identify the reacted icon and number.
- Screen magnifiers – Icons are legible when magnified.
- Stick and mouth tools – Users can still trigger reactions with these.
Facebook reactions were built using interactive ARIA widgets. The company works to ensure features meet accessibility standards for all users.
How are reactions used on Facebook-owned platforms like Instagram?
Facebook has expanded reactions beyond just Facebook to some of its other apps:
- Instagram: You can react to Feed posts, Stories and messages with Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry.
- Messenger: Offers the same reactions for reacting to messages.
- WhatsApp: Reactions are limited to Like and Love emoticons.
Expanding reactions across apps allows for more consistent experiences and emojis people are already familiar with from Facebook.
Are reactions available on Facebook’s gaming platform?
Facebook Gaming allows streamers to enable two reactions for their live streams – “LOL” and “Support.”
Viewers can react during a stream to make the corresponding emoji float across the video overlay. This lets streamers understand their audience’s reactions in real-time.
Gaming reactions are intentionally more gaming-centric vs. Facebook’s news feed reactions. The feature launched in 2020 along with streaming levels and other tools.
Conclusion
Facebook reactions continue evolving as a fundamental way billions of people interact socially online. What began as a simple Like button has grown into a rich vocabulary of emotional icons that better reflect the nuances of human connection.
Reactions enhance self-expression, provide valuable data, increase engagement for content creators, and add color to our personal interactions. While the original Like still dominates, the other reactions have found their own distinct roles.
It will be interesting to see if Facebook expands the reaction options further as needs arise. But for now, the current set adequately covers the most common emotional spectrum – from love to laughter, sadness to anger. The next time you login, don’t just Like a post – take a moment to react with how you truly feel!