The Facebook like button has become an iconic part of the internet over the past decade. Introduced in 2009, the like button allows users to show their support for content on the Facebook platform with just a click. But despite its immense popularity and recognition, the like button has also been the subject of controversy and criticism.
What does the like button do?
On a basic functional level, clicking the like button registers your positive sentiment towards a post in your Facebook feed or on a website/app that has implemented Facebook’s APIs. Each like is counted, with the total number displayed alongside the button, acting as a visible indicator of the content’s popularity.
Likes also play a role in Facebook’s algorithmic sorting and ranking of content in users’ feeds. Pages and posts that receive higher levels of engagement through likes (as well as comments and shares) are more likely to show up prominently in users’ feeds. This encourages publishers and content creators to optimize for likeability to increase their reach and visibility on the platform.
The origins of the like button
Facebook launched the like button on February 9th, 2009, with the stated intention of making the process of positively interacting with content easier and faster for users:
“We built the ‘Like’ button to give you an easy way to tell your friends what you like on Facebook without having to write a whole sentence or paragraph,” said Leah Pearlman, product manager at Facebook.
The like button was part of Facebook’s ongoing efforts to optimize and streamline engagement on their platform. Features like commenting and sharing content already existed, but required more effort from the user. The one-click nature of liking was designed to lower the barrier to interacting with posts.
During the button’s launch, some companies like CNN integrated likes into their Facebook Pages. But it took a couple years before likes became ubiquitous across third-party sites and apps through Facebook’s OpenGraph platform.
How the like became ubiquitous
In September 2011, Facebook announced Open Graph at its F8 developer conference. Open Graph provided integration tools for third-party sites/apps to incorporate Facebook features like login, sharing, and likes.
Suddenly sites didn’t just have to link to their Facebook profiles – they could add Facebook functionality directly into their services. Users could like articles, videos, products, or any URL, without needing to go back to Facebook.
Over the next few years, Facebook likes spread across the web, becoming a de facto feedback mechanism. Though Twitter, Reddit, Youtube, and other platforms had their own versions of a like button, Facebook’s sheer scale and reach made theirs a common point of interoperability between sites.
Criticisms and controversies
As ubiquitous as the like button has become, it has not been without controversies and criticisms over the years.
Encouraging validation-seeking behavior
Some have argued the presence of visible like counts triggers social comparison and fuels validation/feedback seeking behavior, especially among teens. The desire to rack up high like counts can promote superficial engagement and detract from meaningful conversations.
In response to these concerns, Instagram hashidden likes for users in several countries. Though likes are still counted, only the poster can see the count.
Spreading mis/disinformation
Likes can encourage the spread of misinformation on social media. Even if factually inaccurate or misleading claims are debunked in comments, the high like counts and engagement can still signal credibility.
This presents an information literacy challenge – users need to look beyond superficial metrics and carefully consider the content itself when evaluating posts.
Privacy concerns
Likes enable Facebook to track user behavior across the internet, gathering data on browsing habits to improve ad targeting. While users can block Facebook ad trackers, sites that implement like buttons still communicate activity back to Facebook.
This practice has raised privacy concerns, though Facebook claims data is anonymized and aggregated before use.
Manipulation by states/organizations
Publicly visible like counts enable coordinated campaigns by state actors or private organizations to create an artificial impression of popularity and consensus around certain messages/narratives on public Pages. This has been leveraged for propaganda purposes.
Facebook has taken steps to increase authenticity, like requiring Pages to disclose country locations. But the potential for coordinate manipulation remains an issue.
Deceptive engagement practices
Blackhat marketing tactics have also aimed to deceive the like button through fake accounts and clicks:
- Like farms – services that sell bulk fake likes generated by bots/click farms
- Like gating – requiring a like before seeing content
- Like baiting – posts that encourage likes instead of direct engagement
Facebook has algorithms in place to detect inauthentic activity. But staying ahead of evolving tactics is an ongoing battle.
Facebook’s changing attitudes
Facebook itself has had a shifting relationship with likes over the years. Some key moments:
2012: Frictionless sharing removed
Facebook introduced “frictionless sharing” in 2011 to automatically publish users’ likes and listens across partner apps/sites. This drove more likes but raised privacy concerns. Facebook backtracked and made sharing more explicit again by 2012.
2018: Like button demoted
In an updated design, Facebook demoted the like button in the main app to make reactions more prominent. It was part of a wider push to encourage more expressive forms of interaction.
2021: Like counts hidden
Facebook began testing hiding public like counts on posts, followed by Instagram. Likes are still tallied for ranking, but users have to click to see them. This may indicate further distancing from the feature.
The future of the like button
It remains to be seen how long the like button will continue as a mainstay of Facebook’s platform. Some possibilities for its future:
- It may eventually be phased out or hidden by default, receiving a similar fate as frictionless sharing
- Alternatives like emoji reactions could displace likes as the primary feedback mechanism
- The need to combat coordinated manipulation and platforms shifting incentives may diminish its importance in ranking
- If decentralized social platforms gain traction, likes could persist but lose their universal interoperability
But given the feature’s entrenchment, the like is unlikely to disappear overnight. Its infectious spread across the social web underscores how even basic design choices in platforms can have widespread, long-lasting impact.
Conclusion
The Facebook like button has demonstrated immense staying power, becoming one of the most ubiquitous symbols online in just over a decade. But its seeming simplicity belies deeper implications about human psychology, corporate incentives, privacy, misinformation, and more.
While likes enabled frictionless engagement online, the same ease of use benefited validation-seeking behaviors and manipulative strategies. As mounting criticisms question whether the positives now outweigh the negatives, it remains to be seen what the next phase of the like button’s lifespan has in store.