Facebook adds a hug in the face of “COVID-affective”

In the era of social distancing, the world’s leading social network has decided to widen the range of possible reactions.

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In the absence of real hugs, Facebook will offer next week the possibility of sending its loved ones a virtual embrace: in these pandemic times, the world’s first social network has decided to widen the range of possible reactions on its platform.

From each of their friends’ posts, users can now choose to react using the famous yellow guy, this time hugging a red heart affectionately.

The emoji, supposed to bring a little comfort, will be the seventh possible reaction on Facebook, alongside the classics “I like”, “I love”, “Haha”, “Wow”, “Sad” and “Grrr” . It has been five years since Facebook added a new one.

The newcomer will be “a way for people to show their support for others in this unique time,” said company spokesman Alexandru Voica, citing the COVID-19 epidemic.

“This new reaction will be available worldwide next week and you can use it to respond to posts, comments, images, videos and other content on the app and on Facebook.com,” he said.

In the Messenger chat app, the usual red heart that people can give a message to can be transformed into a beating pink and purple heart.

Facebook and its messaging applications have experienced a sharp increase in traffic since the start of the pandemic and the implementation of containment measures around the world.

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