Facebook has become synonymous with liking things. After the addition of the option to like Facebook posts several years ago, Facebook added the option for content creators to add a button to their blogs and Web sites encouraging readers to like the content, via the Web site, which would then be shared with the user’s Facebook friends in the news feed. Almost immediately, Facebook users began clamoring for the option to “dislike” content. Although Facebook refuses to implement this, dozens of extensions for Web browsers — and even more scummy apps — have emerged to “add” this option to Facebook.

But is an official Facebook dislike button really a good idea? Facebook users most likely want the option to dislike content because they don’t like something about the way the content was created — not the actual message itself. If a Facebook dislike button is added to Facebook, users may use the feature to dislike something about the person who created the content, or the source, instead of disliking what the post on Facebook actually says. Though some content — such as a story about a tragedy — should probably be disliked instead of liked, most users would probably not use it for only that purpose.

A dislike button may be more beneficial just for comments on Facebook, considering many Facebook users post rude or inappropriate comments on Facebook. These type of comments can truly be disliked and the option to officially dislike these types of responses might encourage Facebook users to post more thoughtful comments. Of course, as users of YouTube know, the option to dislike is often used as if it were synonymous with an option to disagree, and this behavior would likely emerge on Facebook if there was a “dislike” button, which would make the potential feature completely ineffective for giving feedback.

What do you think is the most effective way to dislike content on Facebook? Should Facebook have a dislike button? Let us know in the comments.