Facebook Revives ‘Poke’ Feature: A Gamified Engagement Mechanic Targeting Younger Users
In a recent development, Facebook has revitalized its vintage ‘Poke’ feature to enhance user engagement, particularly among younger generations. Originally introduced in the platform’s early days, Poke functioned as a virtual nudge to grab a friend’s attention. Although it was largely replaced by more contemporary features, its resurgence is now manifesting through a dedicated button on user profiles.
This new feature allows users to send a poke to their friends directly from their profile page, alerting the recipient via notifications. Users can also track their ‘poke count’ with friends, view who has poked them, and even seek out friends to poke at facebook.com/pokes.
The enhanced Poke experience is reminiscent of gamification elements prevalent in popular apps like Snapchat and TikTok, which employ similar mechanisms to maintain user interaction. However, these features have attracted criticism due to their potential addictive nature, sparking debates about digital wellbeing among minors.
Meta’s decision to emphasize Poke counts and make the feature more prominent reflects an effort to emulate such engagement mechanisms. As users engage in repeated poking with a friend, visual indicators such as fire emojis or numerical values like ‘100’ will appear alongside the friend’s name.
This isn’t the first time Facebook has attempted to rejuvenate Poke. Back in March 2024, the company made it easier for users to locate the Poking page via search and facilitated simpler poking after a user search. These adjustments resulted in a 13-fold increase in Poking activity in the subsequent month, according to Meta’s statements at the time.
The purpose of Poking remains open to interpretation, leaving it up to users to decide whether they wish to use it for catching attention, flirting, or even as a playful annoyance.
Although Facebook continues to be a lucrative source of revenue for Meta’s business, it has faced criticism for struggling to attract younger audiences – a demographic that has witnessed a notable decline, particularly in the US. In an attempt to regain this elusive market segment, Facebook has initiated various initiatives, including the short-lived college-exclusive feature ‘Facebook Campus’, which was discontinued in 2022, and more recently, a redesign catering specifically to Generation Z.
