Earlier today Twitter made a change in their design from users previously having the ability to press a star in order to ‘favorite’ another tweet to now instead letting us press a heart in order to let us ‘like’ a tweet.
Here are 13 of my favorite reactions to it the reactions I liked the most:
Dear @twitter, Do you even use Twitter? #antiheart
— Nyasha Junior (@NyashaJunior) November 3, 2015
via @claudiakincaid
Why are there love hearts everywhere, Twitter? It's like Hello Kitty threw up in here.
— Kate Crawford (@katecrawford) November 3, 2015
UGH. Like, can you not keep your exploding heteronormative romance out of my transgressive digital experience?
— chelsea g. summers (@chelseagsummers) November 3, 2015
via @Dymaxion
The heart doesn't quite say "yes, I saw your tweet, but I have no intention of replying now go away"
— Elon Green (@elongreen) November 3, 2015
via @claudiakincaid
— Nick Seaver (@npseaver) November 3, 2015
These new twitter buttons are fucking ridiculous pic.twitter.com/q2d5hKpWBN
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) November 3, 2015
via @Infonauten
@Leoparddrengen "hvor var du, da favs blev til likes"
— Christian Panton (@christianpanton) November 3, 2015
Translated from Danish: “Where were you when favs became likes”. I had just gotten home sitting my armchair opening my browser not having the slightest clue on what was about to hit me.
A few analytically sound ones:
@npseaver emotional labor!
— Karen Gregory, PhD (@claudiakincaid) November 3, 2015
Lowest Common Denominator Twitter is my least favorite Twitter. https://t.co/lFIj285kzx
— Andy Baio (@waxpancake) November 3, 2015
The change from stars to hearts on Twitter actually limits expression. Affection (a heart) is one of several kinds of interest (a star).
— Dexter Palmer (@dexterauthor) November 3, 2015
via @GreatDismal
A couple of more radical takes on the situation:
Replace human hearts with stars
— Ingrid Burrington (@lifewinning) November 3, 2015
replace human blood with antimatter
— Ingrid Burrington (@lifewinning) November 3, 2015
A rare voice urging us to remain calm:
They left in peace. Let us honor them by acting peacefully. pic.twitter.com/bsUEWz2nuo
— Alana Midnight Mass (@AlanaMassey) November 3, 2015
On a side note it’s actually interesting how seemingly small design changes have come to be a collective concern amongst at least some groups of social media users. In a way I think there are good reasons for it, and that it does reveal an important consciousness about how our scope of ways of digitally being together are by shaped by the design-decisions of the corporations providing these infrastructures. Let’s talk more about that on some occasion.