"Weekends don't count unless you do something completely pointless." It's a quote by Bill Watterson.
So how about starting this weekend with something completely pointless. I am sure all of you out there must be a part of some really lovely and happening whatsapp groups. Technology ne kiska peecha choda hai? It must be fun getting up to GoodMorning messages from Mussurie ke Maasaji, London vaali bhabi or even your own kids who are away; or looking at kiske ghar pe kya pak raha hai – no offences. All I meant was the fotos of delicious dishes being cooked and shared among these whatsapp groups. So in this lockdown if you have done something like that, then don’t worry. You could always start a side business of running a thela or become a part time photographer. Oh! Not to forget the fun we have in our school and college groups and sub groups among these groups. Bitching, gossiping and sharing jokes all through. How about the society / community whatsapp groups? Where the 3rd floor vaali aunty asks “kisi ke paas fresh dhaniya ho toh mere ghar ke bahar chod jaaye. I am social Distancing.” Or the 7th floor vale uncle who keeps cribbing about the noise children make while playing. I am sure each one of you must have seen many of those that brighten up your mood.
What about those pesky work groups on whatsapp which have gained business, thanks to the lockdown or even learning groups where people come together to be a part of a new learning? It must be such a joy waking up to GoodMorning messages from completely random strangers on the group. After all, this is what we had been eagerly waiting for all our life (theek hai, chalo aadhi life hi sahi.) And if someone mentions you by your name i.e, your whatsapp handle, it is like Sone pe Suhaaga. Phir chaahe likha yeh kyun na ho “@hotchippsji, krupya aap khud bhi soye aur humein bhi sone de. Raat ke Dhai baj rahe hai.” It should not have been so upfront, is what I feel. But the point is we all are parts of such groups.
Me and my friends had some hilarious experiences on such groups and my take on them. Sharing a few across with you out there because Sharing is Caring.
#Experience 1 – I have a school whatsapp group where there is a hottie everyone wants to talk to. And someone has mentioned the hottie and sent a message. There is a reply within no time and before you guys imagine, the group is floored with events from their life, photos from their childhood and forwards which they never sent because they didn’t believe in the fact that something bad will happen if they don’t forward them.
#MyTake 1 – It’s a group of 100 plus people. And if their idea was to keep the minds of the others busy thinking about “What’s going on between these two?” they have succeeded. But if isn’t, then they should probably be messaging each other privately. For world peace at least.
#Experience 2 – One of my friends is a part of this school whatsapp group of parents of the kids studying in the same class as hers. Mostly has Moms, because hello, everyone knows that if Dads were a part of such group, the world would have ended by now. Or may be no. So there was this message about commencement of online classes and the links for each day’s session for the next three days. Followed by about 88 messages by Mom’s venting out on the school authorities not considering the health of their kids and asking them to look at the phone/ ipad / laptop screens for 3 – 4 hrs a day.
#MyTake 2 – How about putting on your masks, wearing the safety gear and forming a human chain and posting pics on the whatsapp group protesting against it? And when your kid asks you when the sessions are commencing, you can show your artwork to them. After all this is what you paid their term fee for. Arrgh! Refrain yourself from posting irrelevant stuff on such groups. Instead of ranting on such groups, just get out of there and join your kid into an Anganwadi where kids are allowed to learn in the open nature. Healthy learning.
#Experience 3 – My friend is a part of a whatsapp group from her workplace with all the 264 employees on it. A while back someone suggested that there should be a separate group for each of the divisions at work which will make it easier for them to operate. That way the confidential information of one department doesn’t get leaked out to the other departments. So they ended up with 37 active groups excluding the original one.
#MyTake 3 – I guess people have already forgotten about mails. If it is such confidential information, why share them on whatsapp groups, why not in emails addressed only to the concerned people. If someone can have whatsapp on the phone, might as well have the email too. Don’t tell me that is lockdown ke chalte emails have become extinct and endangered and the next thing we know is that Insta, facebook and linkedin are coming up with the option of forming work groups to streamline the issues of the workforce. After all it is just about being together at one place, isn’t it? Or is it world peace?
#Experience 4 – One of my friends operates a whatsapp group which she uses to help her conduct online Yoga classes. She was clever enough to work around settings like “admins only can share messages,” from the very beginning, which made it a little easier as she and few other admins were the only ones who were posting relevant messages in the group. All was going well until a few members took offence to this setting saying it was violating their fundamental right to express their feelings. In short, they were feeling offended because they were not being allowed to post their post yoga sweaty pics.
#MyTake 4 – So, the ultimate achievement of people in this group was to post their sweaty pics on to the group and my friend couldn’t think of it when she began this group. She managed to think about the settings but this…….no. OMG! So she came up with another brilliant idea. All those who took offence or raised this concern were added as admins in the group. Problem solved. Ab zaroori thodi hai hi har baat pe hum hi gyaan de.
#Experience 5 – I am a part of a whatsapp group where we are all members of a course in writing. And we discuss all shit around the world except writing in this group. The group hosts certain assignments and information where people are supposed to respond. So there was no point in opting for “the messages to be shared by admins only.” And people started using this as a platform for networking, branding and even promoting stuff. One gentleman put up a post saying a very close uncle of his (sasurji ke saale sahib ki biwi ke koi muh bole bhai) is an expert at telling forecasts and if anyone from the group actually wants to know if they can be successful writers after they finish this course, they should definitely consult him. WAIT! What? Is this for real? Are you serious? How can someone…..
#MyTake 5 – Should I ask him only about this or should I ask him about my dog too? Will he mind if I ask him too many questions? God knows how much he will charge for an online consultation? I am sure he has a whatsapp group that I can join for more updates. Not a bad idea at all. After all world peace is what I want.
Are you aware that the biggest problem we are facing today of Climate Change is mostly because of the Waste that we make which cannot be decomposed easily?
Have you ever wondered that with this technological advancement and digital platforms, we are adding up to more and more digital waste. So, the next time you want to post something like a random good morning message, a funny meme or something even more important within a group, think twice, and do it only if it can add to world peace. Just kidding! (About the world peace).
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