Try to imagine once, if you saw some sad news and you want to react in Facebook but there is only one option to like it, with that thumbs up reaction .. I think somehow you would also not like that..
I know it’s tough to express your thoughts without reaction and so does Facebook; that’s why they have introduced one major update with their reaction emojis.
So today we are going to talk about the evolution of reactions.

When did this reaction and emoji series actually begin?

Facebook took this major step in early 2016; they replaced a normal thumbs – up “like” emoji with different reaction emojis like – heart for love, a thumbs-up for like, a laughing emoji for a laughter reaction , wow reaction , sadness emoji to express sadness , and anger face to express the anger.

How Facebook actually came to this conclusion

So Facebook team started to research on the same through dozens of interviews, started analysing which sticker and emojis people were mostly using, also started testing variations in different countries like Chile and Spain.

After this research, they launched their update finally on 24th February,2016 worldwide.
There were 6 reaction in total which was introduced by Facebook.

Now let’s see why these 6

As Facebook is a global platform so Facebook thought and decided as per the worldwide audience interest , reaction, and emotion.
Facebook product lead Julie Zhuo suggested some of more option like – yay or confused but then dropped as people globally didn’t interpret them the same way.

The decided reaction emojis were clearer in expression.

How reactions are used today

Reaction have become a powerful part of how people communicate on Facebook.

Which reaction dominated

People used reaction updates very much, but when in February 2017 a report stated that over 300 billion reactions had been made in a single year, then half of them were heart reaction emoji.
Most of the times when people chose to react, they most often choose “heart”.

Algorithmic Tool That Cuts Both Ways

Users are given additional options for reactions. Conversely, Facebook’s algorithm takes these options and sorts them. For reactions that surpass a simple Like, “stronger” reactions (Love, Angry, Sad) are given prominence in the algorithm. Within a scope, users are digitally manipulated by the algorithm and given their content more widely. Internal researchers claim that the “Angry” reaction is five times more valuable than a Like in the News Feed.

How They Show Up In Practice

Lighthearted (memes, jokes) content garners more Haha and Love reactions. For serious or sad content (loss, empathy, big news), the Sad and Love reactions are more typical. Angry and Wow reactions are more typical for debate, politics, or controversial issues. The reactions are extended to comments, not just posts, since 2017.

Why This Matters For You

As a creator (YouTube/infotainment) working with storytelling, reactions are significant in 3 ways: Emotional tone matters: If an emotion triggers a love reaction, it’s hitting affection or admiration. Conversely, a predominant angry reaction suggests the emotion is contentious or divisive.

You might notice differences in visibility. This is because Facebook’s feed algorithm prioritizes… reactions, and as creators, we should know this.
These little emojis can be micro signals of how your story lands.