‘WhatsApp Warriors’ is the term I have coined for my friends who wage their own war on all and sundry utilising their most deadly weapon, the smart phone. This war is non violent in the kinetic domain but in the vitriolic one, it is deadly. The only difference being it is in the virtual world, the old adage which went something like this, ‘if looks could kill’, here this has been replaced by ‘if posts could kill’, ‘we would have a genocide’ at our hands on a daily basis. These warriors are typically not the ‘shoot and scoot’ types, they will stand their ground and the barrage of posts will continue unabated till hunger pangs makes them part with their weapon system, ‘the phone’. In Punjabi, the term for ‘good for nothing’ people is ‘velle’, these velles indulge in their favourite pastime, ‘vellapanti’, in other words ‘while away the time’ at hand. These guys are typically either retired folks with plenty of ‘gyan’ on all subjects under the Sun and which nobody at home is prepared to even acknowledge or the actual vella youth of today tutored in the WhatsApp University.
WhatsApp provides them with this outlet which keeps them occupied for better part of the day or night. The issues could be as diverse as OP SINDOOR to Digital arrests, Cyber Security to Performance of Indian Cricket Team or the F35 stranded in Kerala, healthy foods, weight loss and even surefire cure for cancers and baldness. We all have watched the ‘Fastest finger first’ challenge in the KBC shows, well these guys can beat those winners who get to the hot seat, any day. The moment they cursorily even glance at a message, it is their duty to immediately post in the scores of groups that he/she is a member. As though a moment’s delay will invite the wrath of the Admins of the group, which may jeopardise their very existence. The funny part is the members of these groups too are common and receive the same messages in all the groups. As if that is not enough, there are many others who don’t even bother to peruse what has been posted earlier in the group and just go ahead and do the needful. So the same message of someone gone missing will appear number of times in the group posted by anyone who came across the same post in some other group. The guy has been found and restored to his kith and kin may be an year ago. In fact in some cases these people have been forcibly got hold of again and again to send them back home, as the finders have just seen the message for the first time.
This ‘compulsive forwarding syndrome’ which is afflicting almost the whole country has now assumed epidemic proportions. We the veterans are equally guilty as we are part of our course groups in all the training academies that we have been to starting from school which may be RIMC, Sainik School, Military Schools or even KV, APS etc to National Defence Academy, here too the squadron types have their own separate group and then IMA, Young Officers course, Degree Engineering course, Staff College, Higher Command, National Defence College, then institutions and Units, Regimental groups and so on. Then there are the family groups, in laws, outlaws, the immediate siblings, the cousins, the distant cousins, friends and the residential society etc. One doesn’t even need to imagine, as each one of us has been subjected to this frightening tyranny of forwards almost daily and it takes us better part of the day to delete these messages, resisting the temptation to delete all in the vain hope that there might be some useful message which is likely to be lost. Perhaps the inner journalist in us in our eternal pursuit of Pulitzer for exclusive scoop, like our TV Channels claiming to be the only ones and the first ones, to report an event, imagine that the Group Admins will reward them in a similar manner.
I am sure we recall that famous story about ‘Whose Job is it Anyway’ Everybody thought that Somebody will do the job, but Nobody did which Anybody could have done. Here everybody is convinced he is the only one and hence he must do it. If we go back to our typical Inertia of rest state, where we are loath to get up and pick up even a glass of water, preferring to order around, just be rest assured this forward will reach the millions even without your push. So just relax read it but don’t forward it, the WhatsApp Cup is already overflowing.
PS- Just one request though, this ‘don’t post’ doesn’t apply to my blogs, these you must post ;).
27 thoughts on “WhatsApp Warriors”
Excellent reading Suyash. Today’s reality summarised in a lucid manner.
Good one Suyash. True, too many Vella Veterans “VVs” .
I am glad , I am still away from this madness.
But anyway well brought out.
Oh yes, the WhatsApp warriors! Though your writing skills are better, here is my post on a similar subject and somewhat similar views…
https://servedfunnysideup.com/2024/03/14/which-is-the-best-time-pass-tool-why-whatsapp-of-course/
It’s acquiring an epidemic proportion. In the background of AI tech and the No Brain fwdg epidemic, we have a perfect recipe for Zoomies and Duds saturating the society. Arm chair digital imperialists will be chuckling away.
We require original thinking writers and thinkers like you to add spice “mirchi” to an otherwise boring space of mindless (not mindful) conversations.
Good one. More power to your pen
Suyash i can say this ones straight from the heart and speaks on what most of us have become over the last 10-12 years. Frankly I resisted joining WhatsApp till 2014 but in NDC had no choice to be part of the group. Then was away from it from 2018-20 but COVID got me back as I needed to communicate with people. Now it’s a habit I detest. My kids warn me of the screen time my phone logs.
Great stuff buddy keep writing
Very well said sir
In this game majority members of group are listeners (victims) of the speakers ( tyrants) .
The collateral damage is the precious time of life lost in this world which otherwise could have been used to read at least the NCERT books to gain better basic knowledge and do critical thinking thereafter.
I will rate this among the top three pain in the $&#ss of the present. Silence works!!
Xcellent as always ….
Well articulated and witty.
Well articulated and witty.
Very Nncely written Suyash. You have a very creative mind and really mastered the writing on anything. Keep it up.
Nicely put forth. As veterans, we should avoid commenting on operations and service matters unless it affects us directly. The service conditions keep evolving over time and may not be the same as were during our time.
It is all about proving that one is Virtually alive and is full of Gyan. Social media is highly addictive and habit forming.
Forwarding someone else’s message is plagiarism and a copyright violation. Forwarding a fake or incorrect message is a crime. In most such groups – it is 99% Forwards.
Many Veterans have now turned into excellent Centre Forwards – not in the game of Soccer- but on social media. They forward anything and everything they receive including some of their personal messages; without realising that the group or person to whom one is sending has already received the very same wisdom from someone with a faster finger. The speed at which their finger moves on their mobile screen is akin to applying lime on a betel leaf. In effect, they glance and never read.
The Centre Forwards on two Whatsapp groups I am a member of, were my superior officers – Majors, Colonels, Brigadiers and Generals – who were either my commanders or my instructors during many army courses I attended. As Cadets at the Academies, we had to come up with ingenious ideas to escape the prying eyes of our instructors. As young Lieutenants, we were asked to be innovative. As Captains we had to be unconventional and unorthodox. As Majors we had to think out-of-the-box and be imaginative. As Commanding Officers our senior commanders expected us to be enterprising and insightful.
Many of these superior officers who wanted me to be Original and outthink the enemy are now spectacular Centre Forwards on Whatsapp.
Soon there will be digital detox specialists giving consultation and earning hefty amounts which can easily be avoided with usage of WhatsApp on need basis.
Spot on Suyash!
Couldn’t say it any better Su! At least now some voracious “posters” will desist after reading this post. Carry on Su.
👍
The eternal conflict between carnal greed driven savagery and knowledge driven consciousness is clearly evident to awakened human minds. This conflict manifests itself in all mediums of interaction, be it digital or a battlefield. Incorporating the substance of conflict rather than focussing on the means will help build awareness about the eternal conflict that can only be won by spreading 🕉️🪔.
Stated with the bang on accuracy of keen observation, Sir.
So true….every bit of this. Very well put across.
This one is too good Suyesh…thpugh against my norms, I am going to forward it to all and sundry. Great humour and straight from the heart. Actual mein..these same forwards…vast laga rakhi hai…
Yes indeed – while there are positives and getting different perspectives; it is becoming increasingly convenient to shoot (write) maybe without substance. Sadly tolerance- ability to listen- to disagree without bring disagreeable is also on the wane
But for a listener, a student of human Behaviour this Human Zoo offers fascinating insights
Sharp, witty and contemporary as always ..
Dedicate it to those who practice Stalin’s philosophy that “Quantity is also a quality” in warfare by flooding the phones memory with the forwards
Humorous yet a subtle message to WhatsApp warriors.Nice article Suyash.
Well written Suyash ! Whatsapp is a double edged weapon. For retired warriors, Whatsapp is an apt medium for them to use their grey matter and turn out sensible content. Post retirement, keeping mentally active precludes many an ailment. Whatsapp is the drug for that. Since “balance” is essential to life, utilization of Social Media has to be balanced too.
Dear Sir,
Your humorous take on “WhatsApp Warriors” is spot on! Your witty observations and satire perfectly capture the phenomenon of compulsive forwarding. Your writing is engaging, and your plea to not forward unnecessary messages is relatable. The PS is a nice touch, encouraging readers to share your blogs. Well done! Your article is a refreshing commentary on the WhatsApp culture that’s taken over our lives.
You got a very fantastic website, Gladiolus I observed it through yahoo.