How Whatsapp affects our daily lives?

Whatsapp is now the most downloaded mobile app on android phones with 100 Billion downloads. It is thus the most widely used and most sought method of communication. Everyone with a smartphone will surely be having a Whatsapp account. It's now a common trend for us to say "Send it to me on WhatsApp". It maybe messages, long texts, doc files, PDFs, photos, voice mails or videos. Let us look into how Whatsapp has affected our lives.

Positive changes-

Simple and easy to use- You don't need much knowledge of the system or internet to operate. Just install, enter no, your account is ready. Even chatting is very easy.

Reduced the complexity of communication- Sending a Whatsapp message happens less than in a second. You will automatically see a tick mark if it is sent. Gone are those days, when you had to stand in a queue for making a call or even sending an e-mail. Nowadays, even college mates or office colleagues will have Whatsapp groups.

Excellent Features- Whatsapp you have now is quite different from what you had used in 2014. It has made everything as convenient as possible. Now it will be even possible to make payments as well.

Sharing news and Links- Whatsapp API enables you to directly share links on Whatsapp without the need to copy and paste the link.

Groups- Phone calls used to be just one-one communication. But with Whatsapp, the formation of groups is possible, with one click your message can reach a lot of people. You need not individually message them.

It's free- Gone are those times when International charges were high and people don't call at home often. Now with internet connection in any corner of the world, you can call without even paying a penny.

Video calling- I still remember that Skype and Orkut (stopped now) was the only formal way of doing a video call. Even then, you need to have a PC and broadband internet. Today you can do it on smartphone using Whatsapp, with phone data pack. You don't need to even have a high-speed broadband or even a PC.

Negative changes

Not available - In some countries like China, Iran, North Korea and Syria, also partly in UAE. So you won't be able to use it in their countries.

Forwarding culture- Often after a new social medium enter's the market it won't have any issues, but with time, it accumulates junk. Just like that forwarding culture is associated very much with Whatsapp. Just by clicking the arrow, your message can be forwarded to anyone. There is no way to trace who sent it. Whatsapp is a messenger, it is not Facebook or Twitter for sharing or forwarding junk items. We all are doing it wrong by sharing unwanted stuff on a Messenger. Even Facebook itself has a separate Messenger app, for sharing message away from public posts.

Fake news- Often associated with all social media platforms. The messages which are not true, factually wrong, filled with propaganda and hatred is prevalent. With end to end encryption, the person who sent the message can't even be traced. A lot of people have lost lives because of rumours. It is a common way to spread false information and you can hear people say "I heard through Whatsapp". People in India call it Whatsapp University.

Propaganda tool- Many of the politicians across the globe use this a propaganda tool to reach out to a wide audience. BJP itself has claimed that it has a big network on Whatsapp to spread the news in its favour. Most of them are just fake forwards and fear-mongering. In the UK, it was used by pro-Brexit parties, to turn the referendum in its favour through brainwashing.

Health effects-  Use of Whatsapp prompts its users to stay awake late at nights. Also, its frequent usage makes people stay online all the time. All these make eyes tired, also it changes sleep cycles.

Data Security- Whatsapp is used by Governments of various to take the information of its users. Eg- Israeli intelligence tapped phones of its political opponents. Whatsapp is even obliged to give the data to your govt if it requests it.  Whatsapp doesn't store your chats nor it can access your messages because of end-end encryption and that is also the reason why you lose your chats after you uninstall Whatsapp unless backed up. Back-up stores your chats on Google drive.

From good morning messages to happy birthday gifs to the scientific explanation on how making sound can kill coronavirus, Whatsapp is a part of our life. It is up to us to stay away from fake news and stop misusing the platform.