Lifehack: turn off WhatsApp notifications

WhatsApp and I: a miserable love-hate relationship. Daily, all those notifications cause me so much stress. I think this is because I feel like I have to be reachable all day long. After all, there is no pause button for receiving messages. As a result, the messages pile up and it feels like a to-do list for me to answer everything. As soon as my screen lights up, I am already in a panic. It has crossed my mind countless times to completely delete WhatsApp, but I have never succeeded. When I finally get to the point of doing this, I am for example just added to a group chat for a vacation. Well, you wouldn't want to miss that notification and be the only one not going on vacation. Because of these kinds of things, I keep deciding to keep the app. I simply have the idea that I can't do without it, because then I miss important things for work or socially. This makes no sense at all, because if people really want you to be somewhere, they will just call you, right? You can never be sure of that, so I keep the app for a little longer.

But well, I also see the nice sides of WhatsApp. It has something very cozy about being in a group chat with your family or talking to friends who live far away more often. Moreover, research has shown that spending time connecting with friends and family on WhatsApp is good for mental health. That research shows that people who spend more time on WhatsApp have a higher level of self-esteem and feel less lonely. I can imagine that well: on WhatsApp, you are really in contact with people, unlike social media, where you mainly stare at the lives of strangers. So we can say that there are also advantages to WhatsApp, making it definitely worth continuing to use it.

But let's talk about that stress for a moment, because we want to get rid of that if we continue to use WhatsApp, right? Well, I think I have the solution for that. Here it comes: turn off your notifications. Maybe a lot of people already do that, but I find it quite a life hack, you know. Because it’s those notifications that cause me the most panic. They just keep coming, making you constantly stare at your screen when it lights up or when you hear a ping. This gives me the feeling that I am not in charge of it, because it continuously distracts me. Apparently, there is a psychological term for this feeling: learned helplessness. Clinical psychologist Anna Mandeville explains that we are overwhelmed by the notifications from WhatsApp. They disrupt our focus, performance, and even our sleep. She believes that turning off the notifications increases the feeling of ‘self-efficacy’ because you can read your messages when it suits you. A nice comparison: it’s like inviting people to your home instead of having people constantly ringing your doorbell. We don’t just let anyone in. Well, this is exactly how I feel about it too. Do you also get too much panic from all your notifications? Then turn off your notifications. Believe me: you will be happier for it.