Facebook will launch ‘reaction’ emojis worldwide soon

Facebook users worldwide will finally be able to take advantage of the site's new "reaction" emojis as an alternative to the "like" button. 

Announced last year, in addition to the "like" button, Facebook Reactions will feature six emojis with the following sentiments: angry, sad, wow, haha, yay and love.

While the feature was first tested last year in Spain and Ireland, then slowly rolled out in Chile, the Philippines, Portugal, and Colombia, Facebook Reactions is finally headed to the United States and the rest of the world within the "next few weeks," according to a Bloomberg report. 

According to Mashable, Facebook worked closely with sociologists to choose images that carefully express certain emotions. The site also selected images that people would feel comfortable and eager to use depending on what the situation was. 

To access the new feature from a smart phone, users will have to hold down on the bottom of a Facebook post and the six emotions will pop up. On a desktop browser, the trick will be to hover over the bottom of the post with your mouse. Users will also be able to see the number of times each emoji was selected for the specific post.

Although many Facebook users have long wished for a "dislike" button to be added to the site, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed concern in the past that the button would convey too much negativity. 

Contact Caitlin Lilly at clilly@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @caitiesmith