FB Reactions- A New Way to Communicate Without Actually Talking

Facebook recently released "reactions", an extension of the stand-by "like". The reaction options include: Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad, and Anger. They are each represented by emoticons. However these "reactions" are not the same as the emoji that we see on our iphones every day. They've been redesigned and actually react through a GIF-like animation. Researchers found that the animations made them much more expressive and clear for users. The chosen expressions were carefully selected to most simply and effectively help people convey common emotions.

An article in Wired called Reactions "quick, easy and gesture based" explaining that this form of communication was a necessary development  because typing out comments on mobile devices is seen as too inconvenient. Facebook has been receiving a significant amount of criticism for enabling the trend away from written or verbal communication but I think we can see this as Facebook simply keeping up with the times.

Like any other business or company with a product to sell- they value their customer's (user's) input and seek to make their experience better. Facebook users communicate with emoticons constantly on other devices and aps for their ability to mock body language and facial responses (an extremely important aspect of communication completely lost in writing). It makes sense to incorporate them into this platform; allowing us to react accurately to content with very little effort.

From a marketing perspective it's pretty brilliant. We know that the majority of people on social media prefer to take a spectator role- viewing and occasionally "liking" but rarely posting or commenting. This means that the majority of user's true opinions are not being tapped. If they don't "like" it and they're too nervous or indifferent to type a written response, they simply scroll by. But Reactions will allow those who previously held back to provide feedback on products, companies, brands, etc. They'll be able to give their input without feeling vulnerable.

This could mean large new amounts of data for companies to utilize, giving them a more comprehensive view of what the public thinks. Conversely, reaction's are limited to just 6 common emotions and they do not offer any follow up as to why a user feels the way they do. Data compiled from "reactions" would have to be done carefully- noting that some emoticons can have multiple purposes or be used sarcastically.

Despite the drawbacks of emoticon communication, I see reactions as an open door to input that otherwise wouldn't exist at all. I am curious if we think that the reactions will be a reliable source of information? Will people who previously did not create content take advantage of reactions, or will they continue to hold back regardless of the convenience factor? What precautions will have to be taken by business owners who plan to utilize this feedback? And do the benefits of "reactions" outweigh the complaints that we are ruining written and verbal communication