Facebook’s playful “poke” feature, a relic of the platform’s early days, is experiencing a surprising resurgence thanks to recent updates. The social media giant reports a 13-fold increase in poking activity over the past month, with a surprising trend – over half of these pokes are coming from younger users aged 18 to 29.
This revival coincides with Facebook’s 20th anniversary. In a move that seems to capitalize on nostalgia, Facebook tweaked the poking feature, making it easier to use. The platform now offers improved suggestions on who to poke, streamlined navigation to the dedicated poking page through search, and even the ability to poke someone directly from their search results.
While Facebook never explicitly defined the purpose of a poke, leaving room for playful interpretations, these updates seem to be reframing it as a lighthearted way to say “hi” to friends and spark conversations. Whether this light-touch approach to interaction resonates with younger users remains to be seen, but the surge in activity suggests it might be finding a new niche in the ever-evolving social media landscape.
