Here’s why people are posting the red heart emoji all over Facebook

It's easy to get dejected with all the 'bad news' we're hearing of late but this is a reminder that there is some good in this world.

You may have spotted people posting the red heart emoji on their Facebook feeds and although you might think it's because Valentines Day is next week, it's actually to raise awareness about breast cancer. Although Breast Cancer Awareness Month is earmarked for October each year, this is a reminder that it's important for women to get checked regularly. The concept is simple with Health.com instructing people to:

"Post a heart on your female friends' Facebook walls, then send a private message explaining that the heart is a subtle reminder to get their breasts checked for lumps".

The intention is that the idea goes viral with everyone posting and encouraging others to follow the message. This idea isn't popular with everyone and some people have suggested that only women should post (come on) and others think that taking part is treating breast cancer as a trivial subject. However, people should remember that this is raising awareness and that's the most important thing.