Adam Earnheardt
  • Blog
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Contact
  • Speaking
  • CV
  • Blog
  • Welcome
  • About
  • Contact
  • Speaking
  • CV

Love the New Twitter Heart?

11/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Follow @adamearn Tweet

You can say a lot with a heart. Introducing a new way to show how you feel on Twitter: https://t.co/WKBEmORXNW pic.twitter.com/G4ZGe0rDTP

— Twitter (@twitter) November 3, 2015
Twitter caused mass pandemonium last week when it made a significant change to the user experience.

In response, the stalwart Twitter mob grabbed their Internet torches and pitchforks intent on bringing down one of the largest social media platforms.


How did Twitter make so many Tweeters so angry?


They ditched the longtime icon for “favoriting” a tweet, the gold star, and replaced it with a new icon, a red heart.


“We are changing our star icon for favorites to a heart and we’ll be calling them likes,” Twitter posted in an announcement Tuesday.


Its reason for the change might seem trivial.


“We want to make Twitter easier and more rewarding to use, and we know that at times the star could be confusing, especially to newcomers,” Twitter said. “You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favorite.”


That’s it. They swapped the star for a heart, setting off a storm of contemptuous tweets from longtime users.


For the majority of Twitter’s more than 300 million active users, the change was met with utter indifference. In fact, my wife, a solid “check-my-Twitter-feed-once-a-day” user reacted with a “huh?” to news of the change.


She couldn’t have cared less.


Heart icons on social media are nothing new. Popular platforms such as Instagram, Periscope and Vine have been using hearts as a seal of approval since their inception.


So why haven’t all Tweeters fallen in love with the heart? After all, many of these people are cross-platform users, meaning they use other services compatible with Twitter’s interface, including Instagram and Vine.


The answer to that question might reside in the definitions we’ve developed for the symbols for stars and hearts. To better understand this visceral reaction, we need to look back to grade school.


When I did something exceptional in Ms. Valentine’s third-grade class, I usually received a gold star sticker on my forehead. I was Ms. Valentine’s favorite pupil, at least on that day.


She never used hearts.


Hearts mean something more to third-graders. They take on an entirely different definition when we get that first note from an admirer in school.


Hearts equal love. Stars equal liking something.


But according to Twitter, “The heart ... is a universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures and time zones. The heart is more expressive, enabling you to convey a range of emotions and easily connect with people.”


To separate themselves from the heart icons on other platforms, Twitter added some emphasis to the new heart. When users select the new Twitter heart, a brief animation suggests the heart is bursting, further signifying a Tweeter’s approval.

Like other changes we’ve been forced to adopt on other platforms over the years (Facebook, anyone?), there’s little chance Twitter will react to the negative reactions of their longtime users.


In the minds of most users, the star is now a distant memory, and only time will mend the hearts of scorned Tweeters.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Adam C. Earnheardt is professor of communication studies the department of communication at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, OH, USA where he also directs the graduate program in professional communication.  He researches and writes about communication and relationships, parenting and sports. He writes a weekly column for The Vindicator and Tribune-Chronicle newspapers on social media and society.

    Categories

    All
    Social Media

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly