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Should YouTube make dislikes visible again?

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Should YouTube make dislikes visible again?

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In early November 2021, YouTube announced its decision to remove the public-facing "Dislike" count from all videos on the platform. While this change has yet to be active for most users, the update is likely to go into effect within the next month.

The decision has YouTube users and creators split on the purpose and importance of seeing content Dislikes. Some say that public Dislikes can have a disproportionately negative impact for content creators, while others claim that there are benefits to users being aware of video counts.

Will the Dislike Button Disappear?

It's important to note that the Dislike button will not be disappearing from the platform. That button will still be active as an active tool for YouTube's algorithm. As a YouTube User, using the like and Dislike buttons is vital for helping guide the algorithm to continue showing you content you might enjoy and omitting content you may not enjoy.

Furthermore, Dislike counts for each video will remain visible to the creator as a means of providing feedback, although the count totals will no longer be public-facing.
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YouTube's Reason for Removing Public Dislike Counts

The Internet allows countless opportunities for the general public to post both positive and negative online reviews for local businesses, e-commerce products, books, and pretty much everything else. So what makes YouTube videos different?

YouTube's reasons for removing the public-facing Dislike counts come down to how users and creators use (or abuse) the feature. It's not uncommon for dueling video creators to source Dislikes for competing videos, either by crowdsourcing or from fake accounts. Videos with a higher number of Dislikes are less likely to continue being viewed, affecting the video's revenue stream. Additionally, an increased number of crowdsourced Dislikes can also push the video lower in search results, giving other videos on the same topic an unfair advantage.

With so many YouTube creators finding fame, YouTube has also experienced a surge of video Dislikes based on creators' political or personal stances. This type of behavior defeats the purpose of the video's Dislike option, as the statistic grows more and more likely to be unrelated to the video itself. Even so, it can be difficult or even impossible for YouTube to monitor each user's genuine intent. While the Dislike option may have once held a functional purpose, that purpose seems to have lost validity and become more divisive over time.

Where most other review platforms have at least some measures to limit displaced negativity or fake reviews, YouTube allows anyone to create an account and browse, watch, post, and interact with all content. The freedom to watch and share content without some of the membership restrictions put in place by other platforms paves the way for a "Wild West'' effect when it comes to keeping unfounded negativity under control. YouTube's decision to remove the Dislike review count will help eliminate some of the abusive or otherwise inappropriate behavior experienced throughout the platform.

Other Pros for Removing YouTube Dislike Counts

While YouTube's reasons for removing the Dislike count will help cut down on unfair user and creator behavior, other positives may result from YouTube's decision.

From the very beginning, YouTube has striven to be a video platform for the people, where anyone can share their unique content. In this respect, YouTube is a social media platform, and also the only large social network employing a straightforward Dislike option for its users. Other social giants such as Instagram and TikTok allow for hearts and comments, and in Facebook's case, users can also reply using a variety of reactions. Any option for a negative reply is either implied using a particular reaction or added as a written comment.

When looking at it from this angle, YouTube's Dislike option seems significantly more polarizing than that of its competitors. It's safe to say that the public display of YouTube's Dislike counts might discourage the average independent user from posting unique content due to the fear of public scrutiny or of not measuring up to the bigger-name YouTube stars. While removing the Dislike count won't necessarily change that fear, it does reduce the threat of being publicly viewed as "disliked." Considering overwhelming research stating that social media can profoundly impact a user's self-esteem and overall mental health, it's hard to argue with a decision designed to help lighten the adverse effects YouTube may have on its users.

In recent years, YouTube has also been grouped more closely alongside streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu, which both allow users to privately Like or Dislike video selections. Though, along the same vein as YouTube's recent decision, the statistics of the counts on these streaming platforms are no longer public.

The Cons for Removing Dislike Counts from YouTube

It may be surprising to find out that many YouTube creators oppose YouTube's decision to hide Dislike counts, claiming that Dislikes help users distinguish which videos may contain low quality, deceptive, or otherwise unfavorable content. A video that has 1000s of Likes may appear favorable. Still, if the same video receives 10,000 Dislikes, a public display of that dichotomy can help signal to the user that there may be something wrong with the video.

Another argument favoring the public Dislike count is that it helps signal a situation where a creator may be purchasing Likes. If a video receives many Likes all at once but then lives on to continue receiving Dislikes over time, this helps signal to both users and YouTube's algorithm that the creator may be using deceptive techniques.

The General Consensus

YouTube's decision to remove public-facing Dislike counts may leave its users on opposite sides of the spectrum. However, what it comes down to in the end is what is ultimately fair for the streaming and social media hybrid platform.

In recent years, we've seen similar decisions from other streaming platforms in order to create a less polarizing environment for content creators and users alike. We've also experienced a worldwide strive towards less caustic social media practices.

Regardless of what side you take, it's easy to understand YouTube's shift towards creating a more favorable environment for its users.

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YouTube is Removing the "Dislike" Count - the Pros and Cons

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YouTube is removing the Dislike count from all videos. Visit here to read about YouTube's decision along with some Pros and Cons of the update.

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YouTube removing dislike 'discourages trolls' but 'unhelpful for users'

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The platform says it's doing this to protect creators, but the overall reaction has been mixed.

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While the "dislike" button would remain, the actual dislike count would be made private
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Earlier this month, video sharing service YouTube, which is now the second-most-used platform online, announced that while the "dislike" button would remain, the actual dislike count would be made private.

"To ensure that YouTube promotes respectful interactions between viewers and creators, we introduced several features and policies to improve their experience," the company announced via a blog post. "And earlier this year, we experimented with the dislike button to see whether or not changes could help better protect our creators from harassment, and reduce dislike attacks - where people work to drive up the number of dislikes on a creator's videos."

YouTube added that it had heard directly from smaller creators, as well as those just getting started, and said that many felt they were often unfairly targeted by efforts to increase the number of dislikes. According to the company, going forward creators will still be able to see their exact dislike counts, along with other metrics, which could allow those creators to determine how their content is performing and even how to improve it.

However, the number of dislikes for a video won't be shared publicly.

YouTube explained the updates via a video:

A new report released this week from data platform Thought Leaders highlighted how this could impact "How To" and "Crafts" videos, a category that has seen the highest ratio of dislikes. The study found that average total engagement per video (likes + dislikes) has steadily increased over the past decade, yet dislikes have increased far faster than likes. Moreover, videos that had brand sponsors were likely to see 14 percent fewer dislikes on average, while gaming has seen the lowest percentage of dislikes in proportion to total engagement, with just 2.8 percent of reactions being dislikes.

While the removal of public dislikes could help the creators, there is the argument this is also about helping YouTube by getting more eyeballs on videos - even ones that could disappoint some viewers. The lack of "dislikes" means there is no quick public review of the user-generated content.

"The more I think about YouTube's claim that the removal of the dislike count was done to protect the smaller creators, the more I feel nothing could be further from the truth," explained Amit Altman, head of publisher relations at Thought Leaders.

"First of all, since YouTube does not do enough to combat click baits or spam content, the like to dislike ratio was the only indication the content you're about to see is what the creator promised you, an important factor that many high-quality independent creators have now lost," added Altman. "Secondly, the claim that this was done to protect the smaller creators from dislike attacks is also completely false."

Altman, who works with dozens of professional full-time independent YouTubers, said that none of them have ever been a victim of a dislike attack.

"The 'victims' of dislike attacks are almost exclusively large corporations on YouTube, and there are plenty of examples to back that claim, whether as a form of protest against a polluting corporation, movie fans showing their disdain to a disappointing trailer, or even YouTube themselves with the #1 and #6 all-time disliked videos - trust me those videos are pretty bad," Altman suggested.

While unwarranted dislikes may have been a problem, Altman said is minor to other issues on the video-sharing platform. "Mental health in the digital space and cyberbullying are serious issues that need proper attention, and YouTube has a paramount responsibility to protect its creators as well as their users, and I fail to see how this move helps to deal with these issues."

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YouTube Removed 'Dislikes' Button - It Could Impact 'How To' And 'Crafts' Videos

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While the "dislike" button would remain, the actual dislike count would be made private

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The dislike button for YouTube will not disappear from the platform

The dislike button will still be active but not visible to viewers

The dislike count on videos will only be available to the creator

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Why did YouTube remove the dislike button?

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Why did YouTube remove the dislike button?

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Users and creators would abuse the feature

Many people placed fake negative reviews

Videos with a higher number of dislikes are less likely to be viewed

Videos with more dislikes are pushed lower in search results

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Helps users distinguish which videos are low quality or unfavorable

Helps signal a situation for when a creator is purchasing likes or using deceptive techniques

Really useful for avoiding clickbait

Lack of dislikes mean there is no quick public review of the content

YouTube does not do enough to combat clickbait and spam content, the dislike button was the only indication if you're seeing what you were promised by the creator

YouTubers can already avoid hate or cyberbullying by autoblocking comments

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901 Cherry Ave. San Bruno, CA 94066. USA.

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901 Cherry Ave. San Bruno, CA 94066. USA.

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Help eliminate abusive and inappropriate behavior across platform

Cut down unfair user and creator behavior

Reduces the amount of attacks from trolls

Reduces the threat and fear of being viewed as publicly disliked

Stop rival creators from abusing the feature for competing videos

Fair to all videos in the same topic of a search result

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After examining the issues surrounding the topic of whether YouTube should bring back dislikes, it is clear that YouTube should definitely bring back the dislike button. One reason I support this position is because because keeping the dislike button helps viewers avoid clickbait. According to Source 2, "YouTube removing dislike 'discourages trolls' but 'unhelpful for users'," the author explains, "A lot of the time, you can't trust the title or thumbnail. If you see a tutorial video and it's got almost all dislikes, you know it's not going to help you." This quotation clearly suggests that the dislike button is extremely helpful for users and YouTube should bring it back. However, opponents may claim that removing the dislike button stops YouTubers from getting targeted, hated, or cyberbullied by viewers, but have they ever considered that there are other ways to avoid online bullies. To illustrate, the author of Source 2 also emphasized that YouTube's autoblock for hate comments is already really helpful for avoiding cyberbullying. For these reasons, it is evident that YouTube should definitely make dislikes visible again.