Fun & Famous
WHATSAPP MOMENTS WE ALL RECOGNIZE
When I still had a Blackberry, let's say in the prehistoric era, iPhone users could suddenly download an app called WhatsApp. But they could only chat with other iPhone users; we BB users were left to pinging. Do you remember? I was ’team Blackberry’ for a long time, but like any other reasonable person, I eventually switched to an iPhone. But that's not really where I want to go. We started with WhatsApp. Nowadays, it's simply usable for everyone, with nearly 10 million users just in the Netherlands. Bet that you are one of them and bet that you recognize the following?
The group chat
You're in a group chat with 55 others and everyone is chattering ALL day long. I know people who didn't realize for a long time that you can set different notifications for each group chat, so that poor soul had a phone that vibrated harder and more often than her vibrator all day long. People, you should ALWAYS turn off group notifications. Read here why.
The group chat part 2
What also happens sometimes is that someone opens a group chat to send a message to their entire list. An invitation to a birthday party, a request to donate for this or that cause or foundation, an update about personal grief or you name it, it happens. I don't really like that kind of group chats and want to leave them as soon as possible, but then a message appears saying: “Liesbeth has left the group.” That sounds so blunt. Like: ‘I care so little about you and actually find you downright stupid so hey big bye I'm off BYE.’ And I don't want to come across that way either. So I end up endlessly getting annoyed with that group and wait very cowardly until someone ELSE leaves the group first and then I quickly do the same.
“The built-up tension is unbearable for some chat partners, often when chatting with a male person”
The checkmarks
The moment the checkmarks turned blue is still vividly in my memory. By now, I am used to it, but I can still almost panic check whether some messages have been read after sending them and feel slightly offended if I still haven't received a reply after an hour. Damn checkmarks.
Your image
Your WhatsApp image can differ from person to person. I respond immediately to some people as soon as they send a message. They know that if I don't respond for a few hours, that's unusual. But for other people (hello, vague acquaintance who suddenly wants something from me), I act like I'm the type who is actually never on WhatsApp. In fact, I say that I'm the type who is actually never on WhatsApp and that’s the reason I haven't responded for so long.
Typing…
I HATE that sentence. The built-up tension is unbearable for some chat partners, often when chatting with a male person. It's completely maddeningly frustrating when ‘Typing…’ ends in nothing. As in: the message is never sent. Back when I was 16 and experienced similar torturous practices on MSN, I would sometimes send “Hey what did you want to type I really saw it,” but I feel too mature and too composed for that.
Your home screen
Anyone using an iPhone 5 is familiar with this pain. Some software variants of that device are no longer able to send a preview due to a WhatsApp update. So instead of seeing the message immediately on your home screen, it just says “New message from Liesbeth.” And then you have to open and read the message before you know what it says. AND THE OTHER PERSON SEES THAT. Seriously, I had this for a few months and it was terrible. I like to choose for myself what I do and do not respond to, thank you very much.
