Kashish keeps her phone near her bed for charging it overnight and like any other day it has been buzzing non-stop. When she lazily checked the notifications, she found a few emails from colleagues, some random social media notifications and almost 200 odd WhatsApp messages.
Out of these WhatsApp messages, there were lame forwards with good night or morning wishes, odd jokes which had been doing rounds in different WhatsApp groups since long and some other random forwards. Hardly any useful message but the story gets repeated every day.
Irritating and relatable isn’t it? Almost all of us face the same situation every single day.
WhatsApp, which is one of the most used applications for sending text, images, files, videos and even making voice calls, has become a medium of sharing spam, marketing, viral and fake messages. Unfortunately quite a few instances have been reported in the recent past, where fake news shared via WhatsApp has spurred heinous hate crimes in India and overseas.
As a platform, WhatsApp has been under severe pressure to control fake messages from going viral and the company has instituted a series of change to fight with the menace. Forwarding of messages has been limited to five users and the forwarded messages came with an indication too. Now it is further testing a series of simple yet important features which will highlight frequently forwarded messages and also let users check how many times a message has been forwarded.
But, WhatsApp, as a medium, can only do very little to control these unwanted messages. Since the messages are encrypted, WhatsApp cannot identify the authenticity of the ‘unbelievably interesting fact’ that you’ve just forwarded to a few groups. So onus lies on us, the users, to become smart and filter the content we read, believe and share through WhatsApp.
If it is on the internet it must be true: This new age sarcasm highlights the fact that anything and everything that we see on the internet or WhatsApp may not be true. The unbelievable fact that you just received as a forward can be easily created by anyone with absolutely zero knowledge about the topic. So, if you’ve received something that’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t.
Stop the hatred: If you find any image or video being circulated via WhatsApp with an intention to spread hatred towards a specific community, religion or a group, make sure that you stop the chain there itself by not forwarding it any further. Remember that people involved in creating and spreading such posts may have vested interests or are being paid to do so. As a responsible citizen, try not to become a medium for spreading hatred.
That amazing offer which doesn’t exist: Quite often we see messages, where companies are giving away unbelievable freebies for just forwarding the message to as many people as you can. Well, stop the chain right away. These are fake promotions or phishing attempts created with the sole intention of stealing user data. Always remember, there are no free lunches.
Respect other’s opinion: Almost all of us are a part of large number of groups where people actively express their opinion. While we may not always agree to what others believe about a certain individual or a political party, a step taken or not taken by the government and you may feel a strong urge to correct his or her belief.
Wait, relax, and remember, it’s always okay to have difference of opinion. Everyone is free to have an opinion and you are not bound to correct everyone.
WhatsApp has been trying to tackle platform abuse by not only making necessary changes in the system but also by blocking accounts of repeat offenders. We must remember as a messaging application there is not much it can do to control our actions and with general elections around the corner, let us ensure that we act responsibly not only as citizens of the country but also members of the digital community.
A technology buff, Jitendra stays up-to-the-minute of trends in smartphones, gadgets, apps and more.