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peaceful piece for such a time of the year..

social group

like i said in the previous post, i think WhatsApp group chats has its good as well. the general plus point of having WhatsApp group chats to me would be particularly relevant to introverts. such group chats allow one to actually socialise with a big group of people without worrying about meeting them in real life or what not.

you see, i think that’s the case with most of us today. we are good in social media and interaction online. such platforms allow us to mask our emotions and what not now and then. on top of that, some platforms even allow us a certain level of anonymity. these allow us express ourselves better wince we are not literally facing the target audience or person when we speak. haha one might even avoid getting beaten immediately when you chat online.

of course, group chats make organising and discussing stuff much more easier. i remember those days when i got my first handphone and all one could do is practically send SMSes and make calls. if you experienced liaising with a group of people individually in hope to make plans for a meet-up and what not, you would know the hassle. well, now all those troubles are no longer a problem. everything is made more simpler. seeking help is easier too. one message in a group chat and one gets more than one replies.

so yeah.. guess enough talk about WhatsApp groups.

group phantoms

this is a continuation from the topic on WhatsApp group chats. some groups are really really huge.. so much so more often than not someone’s input might be less impactful than the others or some might think his/her role in the group chat is not to say something new or create a new discussions. these people rarely reply and even when they reply, it is probably because they get something out of it. i call them phantom members of group chats. what would they normally do?

well, for starters they would always stay in the group chat and use it only for their own convenience. on normal times, they would simply open the group chat to rid the push notifications and probably skim through whatever is said in the chat. they would not respond to any general queries raised but another member of the group chat. they would not put their opinions and suggestions. they would not care about any outing organised. they would not bother much about whatever is said or done in the group chat so long as they do not benefit from the outcome.

so when will they pop up?

these phantoms will pop up when they have trivial and maybe lame requests such as seeking popular votes for some random online contests. these phantoms will pop up when they need you with some project survey. these phantoms will pop up when they seek someone’s help in desperate times.

well, for me personally, whenever such things arise, i would avoid. i will not contribute to your popular vote. i will not help you with you survey. i will just hope someone else will help you resolve your problem. haha hold the thought of me being a bad friend for a moment and allow me to explain before you judge. well, to me such phantom participants just use the group chats as a convenience chat. like they use you when you are needed and ignore you during any other times. if you like that or are okay with that then yeah to you i am an asshole. however, for me i dislike being treated this way and hence why i do that.

that being said, of course i am not a phantom in any group chat. i love the company and what not. well i’ve not really talk about the good stuff of such groups. i shall do one the next time.