Aww! Sad reaction on Facebook still just patronising

It has been confirmed today that the ‘sad’ reaction, as an alternative to the traditional ‘like’ on Facebook, is still just patronising.

Lucy Morgan, 24, Sutton, said, “I posted about how much of a crap day I was having on Facebook. I was saying how shitty my job is, how horrid my flatmates are and that I think everything in my life is falling apart. A public social media forum always seems like the right place to post that kind of thing.”

She continued, “I don’t know what I was looking for. Maybe some support, maybe a comment or two, but instead my friends kept clicking the ‘sad’ reaction. It felt like perhaps they were just alleviating themselves from having to actually say anything supportive.”

Other Facebook users who have received the ‘sad’ reaction in the last few days experienced similar situations. Bianca Hart, 28, Deptford, said, “I posted that I’d lost my necklace that my boyfriend had given to me for my birthday. It got ten sad reactions, but nobody even shared the post. Do they think they’re helping?”

Social scientist Dr Hannah Byden explained, “studies have confirmed that when people click “sad”, it’s often to appear sympathetic, without having to form any emotional connection with the person.”

The problem is becoming more widespread, as an increasing number of people are ‘sad’ reacting to news stories from across the world, and confusing this with actually doing their part to help people.

Dr Byden continued, “it’s a nice idea to be able to have an option that’s not just ‘like’, but frustratingly in the time it would have taken to ‘react’ to the post, in just a few more seconds the person could have signed a petition, donated to a charity or even just sent someone a message to check if they’re okay.”

Moments after this article went live, however, Dr Byden spent seven minutes working how to find the ‘sad’ reaction on this post.