Facebook Users Dislike the Dislike Button Scam

Recently there has been a Facebook dislike button scam circulating the Internet. The spam message, with it's creative yet deceiving phrasing, pulls at your curiosity strings and allows you to believe your friends have downloaded the 'dislike button' application as well. However, by clicking on the link and downloading the application you are giving this rogue application access to your profile. The Facebook Team warns, once you give the application permission to run, it will update your status saying you have downloaded the 'dislike button' and spreads the message to your on-line friends therefore luring them as well.

The rogue application will also ask you to complete a survey, which in return, is a money maker for the original scammers. You may have seen other rogue applications circulating Facebook. The past successful scam that comes to mind is "I Am Never Texting Again!" which once downloaded supposedly takes you to a third party site with a video link.

One Facebook 'Dislike Button Page' has over 3 million members and is continually growing, but will Facebook ever add a dislike button? And would it even be a good idea to add a dislike button considering the rise of Internet and cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is constricted to minor on minor harassment, once an adult becomes involved in on-line harassment it becomes cyber-harassment or cyberstalking. There have been instances when cyberbullying has lead to death and suicide. Would the addition of a dislike button increase the levels of cyberbullying?

As of now, even the 'like button' is used to tease and harass Facebook users. I see it with my own profile status updates as well as my friends. For example, I may post some unfortunate news or complain about a bad day or my job and I'll get that one friend who 'likes' my status when there is obviously nothing to like. Now, I'm mature enough to understand the humor behind this and know that no hard feelings were meant. However, not all people can take light of such situations, especially if it is consistently repeated.

Facebook in itself is a way to share information and stay connected with friends. Some, however, take Facebook and make it into a popularity contest by accepting and requesting 'friends' that they hardly know and allow them to access sensitive and personal information. This makes them easy targets and victims of harassment. Regardless of whether or not Facebook adds a dislike button, cyberbullying will still be prevalent. But, would not adding the Facebook dislike button prevent more unwanted and unneeded harassment?

Then there is the flip side of the dislike button, where it can be used constructively to express feelings and sympathy towards a friend's circumstances. And, as a lot of Facebook users agree, it is just as easy to 'like' someones unfortunate or upsetting status update as it is to type 'dislike' or other malicious comments. By actually commenting on someones status by typing 'dislike' or adding any other malicious comment is much more hateful than clicking on the dislike button because it takes more time and thought.

Perhaps the Facebook team should consider only adding the dislike button to articles and videos. Adding a dislike button to only articles and videos could provoke discussion and interest in a subject therefore leading to solutions for problems and encouraging people to take action.

The Facebook teams says they will give the dislike button much thought considering how many users would like the addition to even the playing field with the like button. However The Facebook Team decides to implement this suggestion from its users, both sides of the equation need to be under close scrutiny, considering the heat Facebook is under for the amount of drama and cyberbullying that takes place on its pages.