*Zing* *Shring* *Bloop* No, these aren’t comic book fight sounds. They’re the new noises Facebook’s app makes as you navigate. The idea seems to be that these little tones will make browsing Facebook more fun and subtly convince you to use the app more.
After discovering the sounds in the Facebook for iOS app, I asked Facebook and it confirmed the news to me, saying, “We are in the process of adding sounds to a variety of common Facebook actions for a more delightful experience.”
Last year Facebook acquired the sound design startup WaveGroup that had helped it jazz up Messenger and Slingshot with pops and dings that let you know if you’ve received a new message or one in an existing thread without looking. Apparently it thought adding the sounds to its main app would enchant more people than they’d piss off
Some people will surely hate these noises, because they can be annoying but also because with all its power over our lives, Facebook is easy to hate. If you want to turn them off, you can go to Facebook Settings->Sounds and turn off In-App Sounds.
Twitter’s had *shwip–pop* noises for when you refresh the timeline for a while. But Facebook has added a soundtrack to many more parts of the app.
Navigating with the nav bar buttons or liking something produces a *pop*, re-sharing conjures a *zing*, posting something gives a satisfying *shring*, and there’s an unobtrusive little *bloop* when you hit the back button.
It might not seem like a big deal, but any game designer can tell you how important sounds are to creating an immersive, addictive experience. It’s the reason most freemium social games are filled with encouraging noises designed to make you feel good about yourself as you spend money on virtual cows. That same quirk of human perception could get people spending more time on Facebook, seeing its ads while they connect with friends.
