Have you ever wanted to do more than just “like” someone’s post on Facebook? Sometimes the like button just doesn’t seem appropriate.

Like that one time that someone you once knew in high school posted that they are having a very bad day, year, and life - you may not want to comment and get wrapped into a three hour discussion that ends in a phone call, but you might want to acknowledge that you read the post, right?

What are you to do? Hit the “like” button? Do you really like the fact that someone is having a bad life? Probably not. This is where Facebook’s newest “reactions” are going to come in handy. The company is currently testing out various reactions that will give users more options than just liking a post.

The Various Choices

Right now, Facebook users in Spain and Ireland will be the first to test out the new emoticons that will soon (presumably) spread to the rest of the Facebook using world. Why Spain and Ireland? Well, I’m not sure, but maybe because users in those two countries have been requesting emoticon status responses more than others? For whatever reason, if you live in either Spain or Ireland, you can test out the options today. If not, here’s what you can look forward to.

Facebook has decided to add love, shock, laughter, funny smiles, and anger to the possible response emoticons. So the next time someone posts that her life is falling apart, you can add a shock or a love (to show support) emoji to your response - not just debating between liking something or completely ignoring it.

About Time

People have been using emojis to express emotions since, well, the first iPhone (don’t get into a tiff Android users. Yes, you have emojis too). So why has it taken Facebook so long to go beyond the simple like button? It’s hard to say, but this writer is sure glad that the company has recognized human emotions span far beyond simple likes and dislikes. So what about that dislike button?

Rumors have been flying for some time now that Facebook is going to add a dislike button to the mix, but we haven’t seen it yet. It seems that Zuckerberg and crew have decided to create options other than like and dislike, and I like that (pun intended). But is there still room for a dislike button? Sometimes you just simply dislike something, right? Sometimes it’s not a happy, sad, or angry face, but an actual dislike of things, and where’s the button for that? So far, there’s no word on an actual dislike button yet.

Arriving Soon

As mentioned, Facebook is testing out the new emojis in Spain and Ireland first, but with any luck North America will see those emojis within the next few months. An exact date hasn’t been set yet, but I’m guessing all will go well across the pond and end up on our doorstep sooner rather than later - after all, we all need a better way to express ourselves on Facebook, right?