There are less people leaving whatsap groups these days.

When we really got started with WhatsApp groups we created family groups, old school mate groups, religious groups and security groups.

There were always the old guys who sent blank voice messages and broadcast messages to all their contacts. They tried hard to sound hip with OMG and LOL but we know who you are.

Then every so often we would get waves of members who left groups. Some because they were outraged, some because though didn’t have the time to read and respond to all the messages and others just pressed the wrong button.


Then in time most learnt that you could just permanently silence any group that you weren’t interested in and you didn’t have to reply to every message or “ameen” to every dua. In fact, most had come to realise that they didn’t have to read all crap or watch all the videos. They could just ignore any and all the groups and spend Sundays catching up with the week.

Then somebody posted a recipe on a security group or a raunchy joke on the Koran studies group and they wished they hadn’t bought that first phone all those years ago.

Notice how there are so few dropouts on groups these days? We get birth and death notices and we get a constant stream of forwards but nobody ever bothers to say anything, real or personal. We are all so wrapped up in the fear of being ridiculed or causing a big bust-up that we tend to keep it at arm's length. We keep our inner selves to ourselves for fear of being ostracised or attacked by trolls that we shut ourselves down. Our fear of being “cancelled” for who are are has led to us cancelling ourselves all on our own.

Odd how the very social network that brought all humans together, where ever in the world they may live in, has turned us all inwards.

We spend most of our days on social networks. So much so that we have forgotten how to be social or to Network.

M Parak
May 2022