If you've been using the Facebook platform since its inception, you should remember one age-old feature - the poke button. This feature allowed users to virtually "touch" each other to gain attention. True, according to "Tele2According to Justina Antropik, head of content for digital channels, the button's popularity faded little by little until it was finally hidden deep within the platform's settings. However, after a long hiatus, it has now been decided to bring it back – all Facebook users will once again be able to tap their friends.
A long lost feature
After a long hiatus, the once-popular tap button has returned to Facebook's main features, which can be found in search (by typing "poke", "pokes" or "poking"). Facebook's tap feature allows users to virtually draw each other's attention to communicate.
The button was introduced shortly after Facebook's inception in 2004. Tapping was one of Facebook's first features, predating the now-common stream of posts.
"The exact origin of the 'tap' feature is not recorded, but it is often attributed to Mark Zuckerberg and the entire early Facebook development team. The idea was inspired by the desire to simulate real communication in a digital environment. "At first, this feature was quite simple - users could 'tap' friends with a single click of a button, and a little later there was an option to 'tap' back and see the whole list of 'taps,'" says Mr. Antropik.
While this feature was common in the early days of Facebook, its use has gradually declined as the platform has expanded and introduced new forms of communication. By the mid-2010s, the feature became almost obsolete, and in 2011 Facebook has even removed the dedicated “tap” button. Users could only access it from a drop-down menu on a friend's profile.
Generation Z loved it
Meta, which runs social network Fabebook, said it recently made updates that make the tap button more accessible to users of the platform. This led to more frequent use of it - after the design change, the number of "taps" increased by as much as 13 times.
According to Mr. Antropik, there were already attempts to return the function in 2017, but then this trend was not confirmed. Interestingly, although this feature is well remembered only by long-time Facebook users, it is now popular with a completely different age group. According to "Meta", more than 50 percent new taps were made by users aged 18-29.
"For some members of Generation Z, the 'tapping' function is a brand new, perhaps untried pastime. It can be a great and effortless way to connect with a Facebook friend you haven't seen in a long time," says the telco's head of content for digital channels.
