Last week, as we ( my wife Aswathy, kids Darshan and Diyah) spent an evening with our long time family friend Darsana and Pradeep- the topic of Whatsapp came up. All of us were ofcourse ocassionaly, looking at our mobiles for updates.It was actually Pradeep's remarks that ignited my interest in writing this It is not surprising to see people sitting for dinner at a restaurant and hardly talking to each other but moving their fingers through the touch screen and texting on Whatsapp or FB Messenger or the several other new ones like Hike or Hangouts that have come up.
Now people are no longer interested in your landline number or cell number.Hey are you on Whatsapp? You see its easy to share photos, videos, text with the convenience of not seeing face to face. A couple broke up only because the wife didn't respond to the husband's message but his screen showed 'blue tick '. So what was she doing all the time? Wait a minute: From where did I get this news? From FB ofcourse!
Then there are couples who pry on each other's Whatsapp messages creating a hell in their relationships. I heard a guy lament, 'all my wife's friends on whatsapp are guys.'
Whatsapp groups
I am in a few Whatsapp groups and if you haven't muted those, it keeps beeping constantly. Some people start of with a 'Good morning' and can be seen through out the day passing comments, sharing pictures and even putting offensive jokes until midnight. Some time back I went a doctor's clinic and lot of people were waiting in the lobby for their turn. Some magazines and newspapers were kept there. Except for an elderly gentleman, none of them were reading but busy texting on their phones and smiling.
And then I heard a guy say in frustration, " I am going to stop this whatsapp. Seriously, It's taking lot of time in useless talk." But he's still there hooked to it.
How Whatsapp destroys language
I fear if I hang on to Whatsapp and FB I may lose my language skills. This may be the shortest blog I have written and that too very informally-- that's all you need to.
-In Whatsapp you don't need to write a full sentence: smileys will help up complete a broken sentence- whether its LOL, cryingm a frown or an anguish and there is always the clap and the thumbs up -frequently overused.
- Earlier, they said: Let's meet over a cup of tea- but now : " Let's meet on Whatsapp"
-Losing perspective: In face to face or oral communication through phone-- as you make a sentence you have the option to clarify it further. But in Whatsapp-- sometimes, that perspective may be lost. You may type something and send, before you blink your eye the other person could reach a conclusion and that could sap a relationship.
Opportunity cost
What would be the opportunity cost of spending time on Whatsapp? All the good things that you can do: Planting a tree, reading a book, spending quality time with your children, spending f2f (face-to-face) time and or even genuinely helping others.
Whatsapp may be a great (or Gr8) technological revolution but at what social costs? Still lazy to comment on this- pls Whatsapp me!
Now people are no longer interested in your landline number or cell number.Hey are you on Whatsapp? You see its easy to share photos, videos, text with the convenience of not seeing face to face. A couple broke up only because the wife didn't respond to the husband's message but his screen showed 'blue tick '. So what was she doing all the time? Wait a minute: From where did I get this news? From FB ofcourse!
Then there are couples who pry on each other's Whatsapp messages creating a hell in their relationships. I heard a guy lament, 'all my wife's friends on whatsapp are guys.'
Whatsapp groups
I am in a few Whatsapp groups and if you haven't muted those, it keeps beeping constantly. Some people start of with a 'Good morning' and can be seen through out the day passing comments, sharing pictures and even putting offensive jokes until midnight. Some time back I went a doctor's clinic and lot of people were waiting in the lobby for their turn. Some magazines and newspapers were kept there. Except for an elderly gentleman, none of them were reading but busy texting on their phones and smiling.
And then I heard a guy say in frustration, " I am going to stop this whatsapp. Seriously, It's taking lot of time in useless talk." But he's still there hooked to it.
How Whatsapp destroys language
I fear if I hang on to Whatsapp and FB I may lose my language skills. This may be the shortest blog I have written and that too very informally-- that's all you need to.
-In Whatsapp you don't need to write a full sentence: smileys will help up complete a broken sentence- whether its LOL, cryingm a frown or an anguish and there is always the clap and the thumbs up -frequently overused.
- Earlier, they said: Let's meet over a cup of tea- but now : " Let's meet on Whatsapp"
-Losing perspective: In face to face or oral communication through phone-- as you make a sentence you have the option to clarify it further. But in Whatsapp-- sometimes, that perspective may be lost. You may type something and send, before you blink your eye the other person could reach a conclusion and that could sap a relationship.
Opportunity cost
What would be the opportunity cost of spending time on Whatsapp? All the good things that you can do: Planting a tree, reading a book, spending quality time with your children, spending f2f (face-to-face) time and or even genuinely helping others.
Whatsapp may be a great (or Gr8) technological revolution but at what social costs? Still lazy to comment on this- pls Whatsapp me!
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