WhatsApp: a boon or bane?
I get a feeling that I am trapped by a demon called WhatsApp and it takes away my 2-3 hours everyday in reading unrelated chats of other people.
When WhatsApp was new, we had a small family group where we used to remain in touch. It was a substitute for phone calls and letters.
Today, it is a horror story. Just open WhatsApp early morning and it shows 84 messages unread. Am I that popular? 84 people need to talk to me?
I am in 15 WhatsApp groups. Two or three relatives' groups. Why two or three? Well in every group some relatives need to be excluded. Some to be included, the typical family drama...
There are social groups, professional groups, colony group, hobby groups. Each group splits into two or three groups for a variety of reasons. Ego being one of them.
Most of the time, the chat is of no relevance to me. But I have got to read all of it because I don't want to miss an important message amidst that jumble of messages including good morning and happy Ganesh from 100 people.
Some people do not have any life outside their WhatsApp. They keep on sending long videos, family-photographs, political interviews and editorials from news papers which they liked. They get up with WhatsApp, send a snap of what they are eating, then send a classical piece of song, and sleep only after sharing some long interview of Nitish Kumar.
WhatsApp messages should not be longer than two screens, videos should not be longer than 3 minutes. Use emails instead to communicate. One should not end more than 2-3 messages a day unless there is very special reason.
Give a title to your message and videos so that we know what it is about. This will help us to skip it when not interested.
I spend half an hour reading names of new hotels in Bangalore, potassium content in banana and apples and how the BATA shoe company started.
Why do I need to know this?
Right to know includes Right not to know
There are some who post photographs of their morning views almost everyday. What I have to do with how the skyline looks from your window everyday? Every part of Goa is beautiful. Whether your window scene or mine.
My office group has 250 members. It is the most noisy group. Do I really want to know what some colleague X did when he went to his village?
There are also members who do self promotion. "I had put up an exhibition of --- in some highschool at Savordem, I gave a talk at a college in Cochin, here is my photo when I went to France in 1985 ...."
Ask 3 questions before putting anything on WhatsApp.
- Am I putting my unsolicited political views on WhatsApp groups?
- Are 100 members really interested in the "real history of Jaipur"?
- Has that forward already appeared on the group?
Please live and let live in peace. Post on WhatsApp only the most essential message.
People ignore you when you send them too many messages. People take you seriously only when you appear only once in a while on WhatsApp.
About the Author:
Padmanabh Sathe is retired scientist from the National Institute of Oceanography. He worked on marine Remote Sensing. He has been a visiting faculty to many colleges and universities. He is a distinguished educator with multi-faceted knowledge.
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