What’s up, folks? Or should I say WhatsApp? I can’t imagine how we lived our lives without this ubiquitous software App on a smartphone.
I looked at WhatsApp like what we Indians used to call SMS, to share short messages that didn’t really require immediate attention (where one should call!) or was important to get all details right. But over a period of time, it’s turned out to be an addiction like smoking, snorting, drinking, etc. You know it’s not good for you but it gets harder to keep away from it. Every night you make a promise, you’ll limit your time scrolling through this app and fail.
Why do I say it is addiction if it is just a communication tool? Because it has long stopped being that. It’s an entire universe in an App. Buy, sell, transfer money, call, just pop in to hi or good morning (why?), chat with a bot which mostly doesn’t understand your ‘human’ reactions and so much more.
Many who know me message me, and when not getting a reply in the next 30 secs, call me to inform that they have emailed me! So WhatsApp is also a surveillance tool. Checking for double ticks and blue ticks seems to be a pastime when not actively messaging and forwarding, quite often, ‘forwarded as received!’ If this doesn’t make sense, it is because it really doesn’t make sense. Or I’m just getting old, and everything around me is incomprehensible.
And WhatsApp Groups? That’s another dynamic altogether.
The joy of being included in any group is short lived, and your assumption that this is the village centre for sharing news and information is proved wrong. Realization dawns that these groups are a mere virtual trash can for sharing unverified ‘news’, warning you about this and that, while getting scammed yourself, giving everyday gyan about life which is mostly meant for others to follow and things that you never missed in all the years of living. Yet, you get no information about what is actually going on. For that, you have cut-away groups, Direct Messages and calls! So why a group in the first place?
A WhatsApp group is to give you a sense of belonging without actually belonging! Get it? All you get is birthday wishes and a variety of forwards, and for other relevant ‘khabar’, you need to message directly or wait for someone to call.
My resolution for 2025 is to get off all WhatsApp groups, including the society groups (yes, there are a few for a different combo of residents) and use the time saved to make calls if I need anything or use the time saved to meditate a bit on nothingness.
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