Your face as a crying cartoon: An introduction to Facebook's avatars

Facebook's avatars function lets you react to comments and posts with a digital version of your face. — Friso Gentsch/dpa

Avatar, avatar... wasn't that some cartoon or something? Unless you're an avid gamer, the fact that you know the word "avatar" is probably thanks to James Cameron and his 2009 sci-fi blockbuster that made the phrase popular outside the gamer scene.

Now, the world's largest social network has brought that same word back into everyday vocabulary with a cartoon version of your face.