By now you definitely know that there was a problem with Whatsapp yesterday. Problem as in, Whatsapp was down. Our world shook, communication got a big jolt! The feeling of being a fish out of water was very real. It was a jarring time (few hours) during which we expressed our views (read, ranted) and showed solidarity on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Google Meets and also on Tinder, all the while majorly missing WhatsApp — as in going back to the app every few minutes.
This is the second time that WhatsApp went MIA without notice. The small silver lining was that it was the messaging app alone this time and not other Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, like it happened last time.
However, the outage got our philosopher bone tickling and we saw the life lessons that were meant to be learnt from the experience, and passed on of course.
A little flexing and some disappearing does no harm…
Be Anil Kapoor in Mr. India, or pull on an imaginary invisibility cloak and go digital AWOL for sometime. Disappear from the radar of not only the colleague who always needs a ‘tiny favour’ but also the crush who has been annoying you for a coffee date and see the results.Because, Bollywood has taught us, “agar pyar sachcha hai toh laut ke ayega.” The little flexing on being incommunicado (and then probably getting spammed on return) adds some glee to the otherwise mundane everyday. Just being honest here.
Time to say ‘what’s up’ IRL
There is a whole life in motion picture beyond the WhatsApp window — something that most of us, especially with WFH and post-pandemic habits, have not been catching up with much lately. Time to chat with people IRL (in real life, for the uninitiated) and squeeze in a little more offscreen time!
Wooing on WhatsApp can only do so much
To all those people who were sending versions of SRK’s lines, “Itni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ke har zarre ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai”, and with the blessing of the mighty Shah Rukh were in the middle of fixing a ‘break situation’ or were catching up with an old flame or sliding into the DMs of a new one — we feel you. However, this is exactly why Anjan Dutt decided to woo Bela Bose over phone calls and not WhatsApp DMs, no? And if you’re looking at your email, remember WiFi can be down as easily as WhatsApp.
Moving on from WA to Telegram is a life lesson
If the ex moving on in five seconds was not a lesson enough, WhatsApp being down has sent another eye opener. Time to put the status updates to use in real life, and make ‘change is the only constant’ and ‘nothing is permanent’ real-life mantras. It might add to the anxiety sometimes, but remember if there’s no WhatsApp there are other messenger services (also true for non-virtual life) and they catch up. Put the earpods on, play Guns N' Roses’s November Rain and give yourself a hug.
On-hold WA messages are like that Goa trips or guitar lesson
Planning WIP, so is execution. Every. Single. Time. Since. Time. Immemorial. Like the Goa trip and the guitar lessons, some things happen in their own time, and you cannot rush it.
Having said all that… WhatsApp, tussi na jao!
The collective respite that was felt when the messenger service was up and running again says a lot about our dependence on WhatsApp, the addictive doom scrolling and the supremacy of virtual interaction. Come to think of it, flashbacks of checking messages during dinner, on a date or during face-to-face conversation have played on our minds like an epiphany-inducing montage since yesterday.
Now whether the non-virtual interactions will come to fruition and phones will be put away or whether it’ll go the way of that ambitious solo trip or keto diet plan, time will tell.
