Facebook Reactions: Impact of Introducing New Features of SNS on Social Capital

Receiving feedback from connections is an important aspect of Social Network Sites (SNS). ‘Likes’ in Facebook (FB) is one such feature which allows users to receive feedback for their posts. However, due to likes restrictive ability in expressing feedback, FB released a new feature called ‘Reactions’. In this paper, we conducted a between-subjects experimental study (N = 44) that compares the effects of Facebook likes and reactions on perceived social capital. The results suggest that users who received reactions on their posts perceived higher levels of bridging and bonding social capital. Additionally, the effect of novelty was shown to be a mediator of these effects on social capital. These results help us understand the relationship maintenance, group cohesions, and user benefits of introducing a new feature into an SNS ecosystem.