Please Bring Back the Downvote Button on Social Media: Society Desperately Needs It

Don’t listen to Zuck, the internet is not a ‘safe place’ for us to be coddled like children.

J.J. Pryor
The Apeiron Blog
Published in
7 min readJul 28, 2021

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Facebook’s downvote button behind a rainy window.
Photo by Barefoot Communications on Unsplash

I’m almost 100% positive you’ve seen it before. Whether on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, we all inevitably come across posts and information we don’t like.

Sometimes it’s a political affiliation you don’t agree with, a not-so-subtle attempt by a brand to influence us, or straight-up fake news — unwanted activity on the internet abounds.

Some media platforms have made basic changes to fix this giant problem. Like the act of removing the simple dislike and downvote buttons. A harmless change to make the internet a better place, at least according to founders like Mark Zuckerberg.

But in this case, I strongly beg to differ.

Divided We Browse

Most of us think the internet is driving the world apart. If we, the users, are the ultimate judge, then it is.

At least 64% of Americans think social media is harming our society. And there’s ample indirect proof that they’re right.

The “Political Stress Index” — which aims to quantify the chances of upcoming massive political…

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Published in The Apeiron Blog

An easy to read philosophical space that aims to elicit discussion and debate on matters of the universe.

Written by J.J. Pryor

3.01 Mil reads | Ex-pat | Ex-Head Product | Ex-cuse Me | PB&T creator | Top 100 Writer | jjpryor.substack.com