Twitter reactions might include "Hmm" but no "Thumbs Down"
After seemingly stagnating for so long, it seems that Twitter is finally picking up the pace and pushing or testing out new features in the past few months alone. That also includes monetization options, like Ticketed Spaces as well as the still unannounced Twitter Blue subscription. One thing that still remains unchanged, however, is that users can only "heart" Tweets, which hardly covers the range of reactions one might have over a post. That may change soon with a set of varied emoji reactions which, except for one are still mostly positive.
Facebook has long added reactions that go beyond its iconic "Thumbs Up" emoji but the fixed set that it has still didn't have the much-requested "Thumbs Down". Facebook does have Sad, Angry, and later "Caring" reactions that denote negative emotions but mostly to express sympathy for the author of the post rather than disagreement. Facebook always explained how a Thumbs Down emoji would only engender negativity and it has stuck that reasoning ever since.
It almost seemed as if Twitter was going to give into user demand. Last March, Jane Manchun Wong, famed for her accurate leaks on upcoming social media features, revealed some of the emojis that Twitter has been considering to add to that list. That included the Thumbs Down or Dislike emoji, though there were others there as well.
Wong now returns with what could be the final set that's being tested and, no, it doesn't include disliking tweets. Although the actual emojis aren't yet finalized, because some still use the old heart icon for likes. It does have "Sad" and "Cheer", which may be like Facebook's "Care" emoji, and a "Hmm" emoji that is admittedly not that widely used in comparison.
Twitter is working on Tweet Reactions view:
"Likes", "Cheer", "Hmm", "Sad", "Haha"
The icons for the Cheer and Sad reactions are WIP and shown as the generic heart one at the moment https://t.co/ZCBhH8z7JR pic.twitter.com/dGqq1CzIis
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 28, 2021
This could still change before the final set rolls out, which still doesn't have a date either. It might not be a big factor now but it could still help make Twitter feel a bit more expressive, at least in old-fashioned text. For everything else, there are audio and video (Fleets) tweets now anyway, not to mention Spaces that you can use as your pulpit.