I think reactions can absolutely be done away with, if only one reaction option is available, such as โค๏ธ or ๐Ÿค™. A zap already tells me that you "like" the post, and even tells me how much you like it, based on how you zapped. However, if there are a wide range of reactions available in the client, then reactions can still have value and provide additional context. They can tell me you found the post to be humorous ๐Ÿคฃ, surprising or mind-blowing ๐Ÿ˜ฎ ๐Ÿคฏ, or that you found it to be an astute observation ๐Ÿ’ฏ ๐ŸŽฏ. This is all context that the zap alone does not necessarily provide. There is also no way to give a negative reaction as a zap, such as ๐Ÿคฎ, ๐Ÿ˜ก, ๐Ÿ˜ญ, or ๐Ÿ™„. There's an argument to be made that taking out negative reactions is a feature, not a bug, but I think we also lose quite a bit by not having the wide range of positive reactions, too.

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That way I can save my zaps for content that I value most, like this comment
Diyana's avatar
Diyana 8 months ago
I like @Amethyst because of that, the range of reactions for me is a breath of fresh air from legacy social media. ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ Zaps are awesome! And I also, like my reactions.
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