Does Facebook Need a Sympathize Button Maybe you too have had this experience you re browsing Facebook and see a sad status update from an acquaintance or friend you ve lost touch with They ve been fired they ve had a death in the family maybe they just had a bad day You want to show that you care but you don t know them well enough to say anything that doesn t sound trite Then you see that someone has perhaps accidentally hit the Like button Whatever you do you think don t be that guy One Facebook engineer has come up with a solution for such a situation a Sympathize button We learned this Thursday from Facebook s annual Compassion Research Day yes the social network devotes a whole day to sharing various ways it s trying to build empathy and foster trust with users

Does Facebook Need a 'Sympathize' Button?

Maybe you too have had this experience: you're browsing Facebook and see a sad status update from an acquaintance or friend you've lost touch with. They've been fired; they've had a death in the family; maybe they just had a bad day.

You want to show that you care, but you don't know them well enough to say anything that doesn't sound trite. Then you see that someone has — perhaps accidentally — hit the Like button. Whatever you do, you think, don't be that guy.

One Facebook engineer has come up with a solution for such a situation: a Sympathize button. We learned this Thursday from Facebook's annual Compassion Research Day — yes, the social network devotes a whole day to sharing various ways it's trying to "build empathy and foster trust" with users.