Hooked on to WhatsApp and loving it!
With umpteen programmes on dozens of TV channels, you are spoilt for choice but chances are there may not be a single one worth your time. You switch on a news channel but within minutes the high decibel debate starts getting on your nerves. The anchors and panellists shout each other down, drowning the debate in the din. In disgust, you start surfing for a decent serial but there is absolutely none to watch. Heavily decked-up women in soaps, absurd storylines, silly situations and overly long episodes are downright boring. What you get in the name of comedy is crass humour.
With the idiot box turning into a real idiot, I am seeking refuge in WhatsApp, a social networking site. From being averse to WhatsApp, in the notso-distant past, I am getting hooked to it. What a big source of infotainment its messages are! You get everything from bits of news, views, and sermons to entertainment.
While some messages can be dismissed as downright silly, there are many that are brilliant – satirical, crisp and thought-provoking. There are witty one-liners guaranteed to bring a smile to your face . You burst into laughter when you watch a funny video but the next message may turn out to be a tear-jerker. Also, there are audios and videos of old melodies that mesmerise. Even before the breaking news flashes on TV, you find someone has already posted the information, many a times with a photo to boot. You feel a light tremor but are not sure if it’s an earthquake, and the next moment you open your mailbox and get its validation. Someone has already posted an image or a message confirming your doubt!
There is no dearth of thought-provoking messages on WhatsApp. You get your daily dose of positivity, or if I may say an overdose in the mail box right in the morning. There are ‘good morning’ greetings complete with beautiful images to keep you upbeat. As if the daily inflow of cheery messages is not enough, your mailbox is flooded with greetings on festivals. So far as I am concerned, I don’t mind revelling in the ‘passed on’ messages, but my poor ‘smart phone’ is not smart enough to handle the deluge of posts on special occasions. It often freezes, giving me the jitters; then begins the arduous task of deleting the messages to restore the functional health of the phone.
After Lohri, while I was on the job of unclogging the system, there was a crisp oneliner in my mail, “In this season I haven’t eaten so many groundnuts as many as I have deleted.” This is the beauty of WhatsApp messages! There is always something to engage, interest and entertain you. No wonder I am hooked on to it.
MY SMARTPHONE IS NOT SMART ENOUGH TO HANDLE DELUGE OF POSTS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. IT OFTEN FREEZES, GIVING ME THE JITTERS; THEN BEGINS THE ARDUOUS TASK OF DELETING THE MESSAGES