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Facebook’s ‘Read Receipts’ On Events Ruins Friendships

By Chanel Adams
Published on: 13:13 PST, Sep 15, 2015

It seems like Facebook is on the track to ruining friendships instead of strengthening them. After Mark Zuckerberg announced they’re finally working on a dislike button, it’s being revealed that the new “read receipts” feature could already cause some trouble.

The popular social networking is incorporating the new read receipts feature to Events section, where you can create and send invites. That means that Facebook users will be able to see who has already seen their invitations – and those who have ignored them.

Facebook has previously introduced the new read receipts feature in both Groups and Messenger in 2012. It looks like the developers aren’t listening to users complaints about read receipts and are looking to roll out this annoying feature in other parts of the social networking site.

Facebook doesn’t allow users a way to opt out of the read receipts feature in both Groups or Messenger. According to a previous report via Daily Dot, you won’t have the choice to opt out of this new feature for Events, as well. This feature is being tested at the moment, but it looks like it will be available to all future Facebook users in the near future.

The only way to avoid the read receipt feature on Facebook is to never open your invites again, or just never log onto the social networking site.

Some are already not too keen on the idea. The New York Times’ contributor Daniel Victor calls Facebook’s read receipts feature a “friendship destruction device.” Some people will finally be able to know who’s ignoring their invites when it comes to birthday parties and other special occasions, even those random ones like unwanted invites to a detox tea party or a waist wrap party. Or, those random invites to a glow-in-the-dark slumber party. Well, that doesn’t sound so bad…

Some Facebook users are so annoyed by the read receipts feature that there are private groups that have as many as 250 members.

Facebook’s already out to ruin lives with the new dislike button, which will come to a timeline near you. That means you’ll be able to dislike your family and friends’ status updates and photos, as you please. Mark Zuckerberg said during a Q&A at Facebook’s headquarters that he realized the need for such a feature. The reason why he was against the dislike button before was because he didn’t want to create a Reddit-style version of upvoting and downvoting users.

“I think people have asked about the dislike button for many years. Today is a special day because today is the day I can say we’re working on it and shipping it.”

Facebook has been working on the feature for a while and hopes to launch it soon, according to Zuckerberg.

But it sounds like the new dislike button could be more of a curse rather than a blessing, as some have pointed out on social media.

However, a recent report via Vox says that the dislike button won’t do what you think it’s going to do. It’s only going to be an option for when users want to express empathy.

What are your thoughts on Facebook’s dislike button and the read receipts feature on Events? What new features would like you to see on the social networking site? Share your thoughts below in the comments section.

[Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]

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