You’ve probably seen and been baffled by, the new purple flower that’s popped up among the reaction emojis on Facebook. You’re probably thinking ‘where did it come from?’ and, if you’re in the UK, ‘why can’t I use it?’
The site released the flower in celebration of Mother’s Day, which takes place in America (and 79 other countries around the world) on the 14 May. Facebook said that they are “testing the ability for people in a few markets to leave a flower reaction.” The symbol is supposed to be a showing of thanks, which may come in useful when none of the other emojis really fit the bill.
Facebook did release the same flower last year to mark the same occasion, but as it’s a temporary feature, the likelihood is that those in the UK won’t be able to use it. However, there really is a gap in the emoji reactions market for an option that demonstrates thanks or even empathy, when ‘liking’ a status might not be appropriate.
What other emoji reactions do you think Facebook should add? I don’t know about you, but I think maybe an ‘eyeroll’ emoji would sometimes come in useful.
