Facebook Is Rolling Out New Feature Called Secret Crush

Modern dating, it's mad world really when you take a step back and think about it. You upload a few select selfies, insert a witty comment to describe yourself and based on this people judge if you're worth meeting for a drink to proceed with the dating courtship. More often than not, you'll exchange some texts of pointless banter and, inevitably, someone is ghosted. To add even more complexity to this dating ritual, Facebook have now thrown their hat in the ring as yet another roundabout way of telling your crush you're interested.

Following last year's infamous Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, the tech giant announced they would be moving into the dating app space to compete with popular dating apps like Tinder and Bumble. Yesterday, Facebook announced its business plans to focus on smaller groups and allowing users to take part in communities of people with similar interests. Part of the new Facebook Dating venture is the new feature named Secret Crush which will allow users to select up to nine friends they want to express interest in. Unlike Tinder or Bumble where you scroll through randomers and awkwardly come across your cousin, with Secret Crush you can hand-pick the specific friends you would like to date.

So here is how Secret Crush works. If you add someone to your Secret Crush list, Facebook will then send them a notification on your behalf saying "A friend added you as a secret crush", oh exciting. If your crush then adds you to their Secret Crush list, similar to Tinder and Bumble, it's a match! Only then will Facebook reveal both your names. If the feelings are one-sided, which call me cynical but they often are, your identity will remain secret. So basically, it's the same thing as Facebook's virtual 'poke' feature back in the day. The virtual 'poke' was the winky face of WhatsApp to express your interest in taking your friendships to the next level.

Here's a wild idea, bring back the aul 'poke' or better still how about skipping all that and just asking someone out for a drink.