Two months after Twitter asked its users for their opinions on the possibility of having more than just the Like to react to tweets with, we get a glimpse of what that idea could actually look like.
Twitter Has "Tweet Reactions" in the Works
According to app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, Twitter is currently working on adding new ways to express how you feel about tweets you see on your timeline.
The heart-shaped Twitter Like, which was originally the star-shaped Favorite before being changed in 2015, may soon be accompanied by a handful of other reaction emojis.
The new feature appears to be quite similar to the reactions that Facebook added in 2016. However, Twitter's reactions differ ever so slightly (with some not having their own icons just yet, though Wong notes that they're still being worked on).
When reacting to a tweet, you'll find that in place of a Love reaction—as Likes on Twitter are already represented with a heart—is the option to Cheer for tweets you agree with or for people you want to show support for.
Meanwhile, instead of an Angry reaction, there's a Hmm, which presumably represents thinking or curiosity. We think the reason for this change is connected to the March 2021 Twitter survey that asked users for feedback on the potential addition of Tweet Reactions.
At the time, it looked like a good number of users agreed that they didn't like the idea of "negative" reactions (e.g. dislike, downvote, etc.). In fact, some even threatened to quit the site entirely, if Twitter were to fuel the hate fire, so to speak.
Anger and Hatred on Twitter
Every social network has to deal with forms of anger and hate—it comes with giving users a platform and the freedom to post just about anything they want. But Twitter seems to have it the worst by far.
Twitter seems to be the first place netizens will go to vent whenever they're inconvenienced, bothered, or angered by something. In fact, it's gotten so bad that the company felt the need to add a prompt that asks you to reconsider sending your tweet if it contains hateful words.
While the lack of an Angry option certainly won't stop users from expressing that very emotion through quote tweets and replies, it does seem to be a step in the right direction should the platform really go through with implementing Tweet Reactions.