Facebook Offers Major Redesign for Users to Focus on Groups and Events

Facebook Redesign now Live to All

Image: Facebook

Social media giant Facebook has undergone its fifth major redesign since the company was founded, highlighting groups and invitations and taking the focus off of its news feed. This could help single users who aren’t necessarily on Facebook Dating, but want to connect with people in their circles.

The new redesign places groups front and center along with events, which are the two most heavily used features of Facebook. There are tens of millions of active Facebook groups according to the company, and more than 400 million users belong to a group that they “find meaningful,” according to the company’s blog post. 

“With this in mind, we’re rolling out a fresh new design for Facebook that’s simpler and puts your communities at the center,” the post reads. “We’re also introducing new tools that will help make it easier for you to discover and engage with groups of people who share your interests.”

According to The Verge, a new feature called Meet New Friends is being highlighted throughout the app to help people connect with each other through shared interests, workplace networks, or through their school or university. The intention is to help users find real-world connections, too.

Facebook is building tools for specific group types as well, like a chat forum for gaming and video game fan groups, a new listing format focused on helping users find new jobs, and adding “buy” buttons that are built into live broadcasts to help businesses and entrepreneurs sell products more easily, according to website Pocket Lint. Users can also post to groups from News Feed as easily as they can post to their own profiles. 

In addition to the new focus on groups, Facebook Dating is getting a new in-app video chat feature over Messenger, following a trend among dating app companies as more people gravitate to video dating in the midst of the pandemic. Users will be able to invite a match who is online on a virtual date. The match can choose to accept or decline. When connected the video chat will be powered by Facebook Messenger.

How to use the Facebook Dating Video Chat Feature

Facebook has come under fire recently for its failure to control the spread of misinformation and hate speech over its app, which might be a reason the company decided to move away from highlighting its news feed and get back to social connections, which was the main focus when it started. It gets complicated as The Verge points out, because Facebook mines data and gets most of its revenue from user data interactions with News Feed.

The new Events tab (which is now next to the Groups tab on the home page) might not be as popular while the pandemic is forcing people to stay apart, but it has been useful for virtual events and gatherings. Facebook has also tweaked it so that you can better find and organize events that might interest you – sorted by events your friends are hosting versus public ones.

The redesign also offers a new interface with a “dark” mode that’s now trendy among many apps, where users can opt for a black background instead of the typical white screen. 

The changes have been made to iOS and Android mobile devices as well as desktops.