WhatsApp Etiquette, important guidelines - a must-read!

As with technological advances, communication has become easier and more accessible, but in many ways, it can be more annoying and taxing in our daily lives. Ghosting, blue ticks, buzzing group chats and spam - we've all struggled with it. While it's nice to stay connected, we are now living in a time when a quick response is expected, and we have to switch off our devices to get some peace literally. 

1. Blue Ticks✔️✔️

Blue is a colour often associated with calm emotions and is related to feelings of loyalty and trust. But waiting nearly forty minutes or two days for an essential response after someone has read your message can be very frustrating. Whether it is business, friendship or relationship, we have either been on the sending or receiving side. 

As much as texting has become our preferred method of communication, it remains to be said that not all communication should be sent like this. It is difficult to read someone's intentions or to get an accurate response and tone without hearing their voice or seeing their face. Whether you are sending or receiving, there are ways to mitigate frustration. 
 

SENDING & RECEIVING WHATSAPP MESSAGES  📳

Sender

Before sending the WhatsApp, ask yourself if this communication should be better asked in person or over a phone call. If it is something important that you want an excellent solid response to, then face-to-face is better. 

Talking about challenging topics in person builds a good foundation for communication in business and personal relationships. This will help you to gauge the person's reaction and response, body language and ability to communicate back. If in-person is not possible, facetime or an online call would be the next best thing. 
 

Tip: 

For important communication: call to arrange a coffee or meeting, and follow up with WhatsApp later if they have not returned your call. If you still have no response, ask yourself if this person is worth the effort. If you are trying to get hold of a busy professional, they will likely take time to get back to you. Manage your expectations! 
 

Receiver

You are responsible for the way you communicate, and there is a level of maturity needed that comes with both sending and receiving messages. When you are on the receiving end, you must be conscious of your responses. In a romantic relationship, you need to think beyond your wants and desires and making your partner feel valued and appreciated could come in a simple text: Missing or thinking of you.  

Blue Tick Tips

Think twice before opening a message right away, especially if you do not have time to respond. If you read the message and then try to text something back, keep it simple:

In a meeting, chat later. Create a reminder to get to the person later, or find a quiet time and text back.

Tip: Turn off your last seen notice. This stops you from checking when someone was online and from seeing yours. This will help with the expectation of not texting back right away. 

Don't turn off blue ticks!

Sure, WhatsApp can turn off blue ticks to let messages you've read still appear as dull grey, but that simply isn't the way to do it. We all want to feel acknowledged, don't we? Then we shouldn't leave others wondering if their messages are blatantly being ignored or if they haven't actually been opened yet. Instead, read the message when you have time to respond. A two-way conversation needs transparency, after all. 

Managing your tone 😤

As mentioned before, it is difficult to measure someone's tone in a message, but there are ways of adding tone to your messages. Basic hello and how are you are a good start, basic manners, but emojis can help to add fun to a potentially serious conversation. 

No breaking up over WhatsApp!

You can break up with your significant other over text, but that doesn't mean you should. If you have done this, you should be ashamed of yourself! Common decency suggests that we should save that bombshell of a statement for something more genuine, a face-to-face conversation. If you get into a relationship or business partnership, you should buck up and have that complicated conversation.

Be Mindful 💁

When the face-to-face element is removed, it becomes effortless to misinterpret the tone. Something you may perceive as jovial could be slightly hostile on the receiving end. For all our good intentions, it is elementary to make mistakes if we don't think before we speak or, in this case, hit send. 

Let's think about the following going forward:

• Review the recent string of messages and see if there's any animosity from the other person. If you find any, maybe dial it back a bit before typing up a response. 
• Be wary of how you word your responses. Ask yourself how upset you'd be if someone said something similar to you. If the answer is "not at all", go right ahead. 
• Make sure your message is relevant to what's being discussed. Don't be the person who curveballs a serious conversation because you found a funny meme you couldn't wait to send. 

Emojis, GIFs, and Voice Notes 😜😃😂

It's not hard to see why an endless stream of emojis and GIFs may appeal to some people; they're a fun and quirky way of expressing oneself. However, it's not hard to see why they're loathed; sometimes, less is more. 🫢

Voice notes aren't much different. There's a certain ease to speaking into your phone while on the go, but taking the time of day to listen to them isn't always an option for the busier folk you may be involved with. 🗣️

Make no mistake, it's okay to indulge in these methods of communication, but don't fret if you aren't responded to immediately. As with all messages, make sure there's a reason behind why you're doing it. 🤔 

Dealing with Disagreements

The constant back-and-forth of an argument via messaging can be brutal, especially when two parties are furiously typing away at one another. It is best to pick up the phone and resolve the issue through a proper dialogue, where the tone of voice can be felt and appreciated. It's tough, but protecting a relationship must come first. 

Is a Digital Detox What You Need? 📵

At the end of the day, you need to be in the right headspace. If WhatsApp is taking its toll on you, don't hesitate to spend time away from your phone on a digital detox.  

Of course, don't forget why you've been nurturing those relationships. Just as you want to help them, they can help you in return. Part of having good etiquette is knowing when to reach out about your problems and knowing group chats exist to help you. Read for more insight. 

So feel free to take a break! Just don't disable your blue tick setting because people deserve to know if you've acknowledged what they have to say, just like you deserve the same. 

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