Are You Addicted To “WhatsApp”?

One tick, two ticks… now they’re blue. Why don’t you answer me if you’ve already read the message? This app can become more than a means of communication. Dependence on WhatsApp is more frequent than you might think, and maybe you suffer from it without realizing it.

Case #1:  “As soon as I wake up, I look at my contacts who are online…How can it be that my boyfriend is available if supposedly at the company he can’t use his cell phone? So, if you are logged in, why didn’t you reply to my last message which is already marked with the two blue ticks? I have to call him… or rather, I’ll write to him again. Again two ticks… are you avoiding me?

Case No. 2:  “Since the girl I like and I are talking through WhatsApp I don’t let the cell phone have a 30% battery life. I run to load it, it goes out and she just leaves me a message. Worst of all is when the green indication appears saying “writing…”, but then disappears and there is no message. It’s been deleted! You don’t want to answer me!

Case No. 3:  “The teacher has already caught my attention twice because I have my cell phone in class, even though I have set it to vibrate. But while he’s explaining the Pythagoras Theorem, I hear the cell phone vibrating in my suitcase again. I have to answer! It’s a matter of life and death! I can’t make my friends wait, as they are organizing this weekend’s program (of course, because they have a teacher who doesn’t say anything if they use WhatsApp in class)!”

If some of these cases are familiar to you by coincidence, perhaps you are suffering from a dependency on this application, the most used in recent times in the world. Maybe you’re using WhatsApp in a somewhat “obsessive” way.

Even if it’s not a problem for you to look at your cell phone all the time, it might be for the people around you. These people need the attention and dedication you give your contacts through the app.

For a person to be considered dependent on WhatsApp, the use of the app must have a significant negative influence on their life.  The dependent person does not hesitate to sacrifice other activities he would like to do or any of his obligations by being attentive to his contacts and the conversations he has with them.

If you respond to messages on WhatsApp walking like a zombie through the streets, you may be at risk of having an accident. If you don’t focus on your work or study, if the app is your indispensable companion at dinnertime instead of having a conversation with your family, or if you’re more concerned with messages than your own life… then you probably have a problem.

Other “symptoms” of WhatsApp addiction are : not to stop looking at your cell phone every five minutes, believing that you have heard the sound the cell phone makes when you receive a message, that it is an extension of your hand, that you do not want to leave it not even to take a shower or answer messages as soon as they arrive, without letting even a minute pass.

But beware, although we may think that WhatsApp is a fad or a passing trend, many people need to be treated for their dependence on the two blue ticks tool. It can cause nervous attacks, anxiety, jealousy, problems with couples, concentration, studying, accidents in the street, lack of interest in real life, lack of real communication with people around, etc.

How to reduce the use of WhatsApp?

If you’ve been told more than once that you’re a little obsessed with this app, or after reading this text you’ve noticed that you identify with general cases or symptoms, it’s worth paying attention to the following ideas to reduce usage and WhatsApp dependency:

1- Turn off notifications:   Sound is a distraction when you need to focus on something else. If your cell phone also has a warning light, remove it too. You can plan a time of day to check and reply to your messages, but it can’t be the task that always has the highest priority and that forces you to interrupt or prevents you from doing other activities.

2-   Keep the phone out of your sight: don’t leave it on your desk or desk, keep it in a suitcase or backpack, preferably in a place where you have to get up to get to it.

3- Turn off your cell phone at night:  this will have a positive effect on your rest, as the electromagnetic waves you receive from the city’s antennas will not affect your brain. You can also disable Wi-Fi or the data plan you have.

If all this doesn’t work, seriously consider eliminating the app, even if it means being “isolated” from the world. Think about how we could all live a long time without instant messaging apps, including short messages and cell phones.