Can't check out, can't leave!

The real situation in being a member of WhatsApp groups!

The other day, I took a decision in the making for a long time. I knew the consequences would be unpleasant but I owed it to myself and so took the plunge. Some were shocked and disappointed, some called to ask me if everything was okay while others congratulated me saying my action gave them the courage to do something they would not have dared to do.

What did I do? I left a WhatsApp group!

No one could have anticipated the horrors that would follow the dreaded group chat feature of the messaging app. Nowhere have social etiquettes been more flouted and disregarded than in a WhatsApp group.

Imagine a party with a few people hanging out with lovely food and light music. Some are chatting and others staring at the art work on the walls but one person looks desperate to escape from someone showing him all 200 pictures of his baby.

Suddenly, one guest grabs hold of 10 people, drags them to the centre of the hall and forces them to plan how to bring the cake out. Though bewildered at first, you all decide to humour your strange friend. After a few half-hearted comments, the topic at hand is forgotten and one member of the group suddenly starts handing out fliers for the discounts in the car dealership he owns. Meanwhile, another starts loudly warning people about how a secret society has been poisoning the water. In the middle of all this, two old school friends pass around school trip photos and have a nostalgic conversation about their school  that no one else in the group went to. Smack in the middle of this mayhem, a doctor friend shares health tips no one asked for and the other annoying person shows off more baby photos.

Now imagine you quietly walk away from this storm of insufferable madness and everyone stops and stares at you as if you insulted them and calls you rude!

No sanity

That, my friend, is exactly how some WhatsApp groups feel like! What would definitely be viewed as insane behaviour in a normal social setting, is tolerated and even perpetuated in these groups.

Any resistance or indifference makes you a social reject.

What do these groups offer you in reality? Well, rarely does anyone ask to be in a group. They are added in, whether they like it or not. Then there is the good morning, good night forwards. And all those Happy birthday, Deepavali, Christmas and any number of season's greetings, complete with fireworks GIFs.

Then there are the forwards - 15 lines narrating a moral story and the scary "Read more" at the end. The real gems are the "Pass this on to 10 people to bring good fortune" messages. I guess passing on the last three did not improve my luck.

Let us not forget fake news, complete with unrelated and out-of-context videos or images. This wisdom comes courtesy of senior members of our families followed by blessings and religious sentiments.

And yet, thousands of WhatsApp users like me continue to remain in the grips of these groups, wanting to avoid the awkwardness caused by those terrifying words : "So-and-so has left the group". Those words seem to insinuate an abandonment of filial or friendly duties, not the great escape that it actually is! And so, I continue to open and close chats, hoping to remain unnoticed in the background. I dared once to "exit" but no more. I'm not that reckless. I only rant nowadays!

- Jane Pauline Hamilton

My take.

The real situation that one gets drawn to while being a member in a WhatsApp group. The funniest thing is that the most inane topic is discussed with great seriousness! Your hand reaches for your cellphone the moment you wake up in the morning and you're at it for the rest of the day!! An addiction of sorts!!!

Tailpiece.

Got up around 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. After a quick wrap up of the day's newspapers, participated in a webinar : "Afghan government capitulates - what next" hosted by Indus Research Foundation from 1100 to 1300 hrs. Had joined up thanks to the personal invite from my classmate and friend, Anandakrishnan. It was interesting.

Lekha has got her first courier - the pair of sandals!

Participated in the Aazhchakkoottam : "The many meanings of Onam" by K Jayakumar, IAS, former Chief Secretary, Director, Institute of Management in government from 1600 to 1730 hrs. It had the 'K Jayakumar touch'!