Facebook is getting the button it desperately needs.

Don’t you hate it when someone posts a status update on Facebook saying their Grandma has died, and you just don’t have the time to write something thoughtful, but you also feel like you have to do something, so you just press the ‘Like’ button?

You don’t mean it to be obnoxious but…

“My Aunt Bess dies today after a long battle with an awful disease. She will be missed.”

“I regret to say that my marriage is over. We tried evreything we could to make it work, but in the end we just weren’t meant to be.”

“Can’t believe I got fired today. After five years of hard work in a company that I love.”

You get the idea.  #Awkward.

But they got the message right? You don’t ‘like’ that their Grandma died, you’re just at work and too busy to write anything so the ‘like’ button is just like a virtual hug. Isn’t it? ISN’T IT?

Well, no. It isn’t really.

We could avoid this whole problem by, you know, just communicating with each other in person. But let’s be honest: we’re too far into this now. Facebook is who we are. It’s too late to turn back. All we can do is try to solve the ridiculous first world problems we have here and now.

Good news, you guys. Facebook is all over it.

They understand how time-poor everybody is. They get that you want to show you care, but you don’t actually want to have to do anything to show you care. Mark Zuckerberg gets that. And he’s here for you.

Enter the Facebook Sympathise Button.

There have been reports that Facebook is workshopping a sympathise button to make those difficult online interactions that require effort and empathy a little less awkward for everybody.

Facebook engineer Dan Muriello revealed:

“It would be, ‘five people sympathize with this,’ instead of ‘five people ‘like’ this’. Which of course a lot of people were – and still are – very excited about. But we made a decision that it was not exactly the right time to launch that product. Yet.”

At least we know it’s coming. All we need now is the long-awaited ‘Dislike’ button, and we may never have to talk to anybody face-to-face ever again.

Hurrah technology!

What buttons do you think Facebook needs?

And speaking of Facebook buttons…

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