"So You Like Poking...?"

Every once in a while I see a status or hear someone ask "What does a poke mean on Facebook?" or "Why are you 'poking' me?" I've inquired as well...I think about it every time I see that index finger icon on the side of my page next to the name of my "pokers". I'm not one to poke back nor am I bothered by it, but I do have my own theory about the existence of poking on Facebook. It's simple. "Poking" is the non-verbal attempt to attain someone's attention! I know, I know...why not message you if they want to talk to you, right? But what if they have AWFUL, DEADLY, HORRIBLE conversation skills, and "poking" was the most successful outlet to pull your attention? What if they're not your Facebook friend and they're nervous to contact you (which I don't understand why they would be anyway since a handful of you accept people you don't know)? What if "the poke" is a silent "I want you to want me" call? Ayyyy. Maybe, "the poke" was inspired by the Pillsbury Doughboy...he gets poked a lot...well, at least in commercials (that sounds bad :/ ). Or, it could just be a friendly gesture...no big deal. I really do think it's an action used to get someone's attention though...or just to engage in a massive poke war. So, I tried it out.

 I Facebook poked one person that poked me first, some elderly man I picked randomly that wasn't on my friends list, I attempted to poke my Mom (fail), and I asked people what a Facebook poke means to them ( I will try to upload a video later). So, to the person that poked me first, I poked them back...and they poked me again...-_- and sent a smiley face in my inbox. Definitely think that was for attention. The elderly man responded to my poke with a "I don't do NO POKING over here..." He and I are friends now Lol. My Mom didn't know what it meant...at all...and a majority of the responses I received from people asking about the purpose of a poke were closely related to the idea of attention (with the exception of a few people that used Facebook poking as an underlying sexual gesture...womp, womp). If it's an attempt to get the attention of someone of your choice, that finger just isn't cutting it. It's creepy. I think an icon winking or even MJ moonwalking is an upgrade from that finger. It just sits there...looking crazy. I mean, poke all you want, but can you pokers please explain to those of us that aren't poking savvy what your poke means? Because in real life, we all know randomly poking someone will present more downfalls than benefits....and none of us need handcuffs!

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With Realness,

Bee Elae
2/10/2014