Tick, Tick, Tock
If there's one thing that's kept my ego treading slightly above water for the first few years of my adult life, it's that maybe all the texts I've sent that haven't been responded to have have had a perfectly valid reason to be ignored. Maybe, just maybe, my SMS carrier screwed up, meaning the person on the other end of the text simply never saw it. Perhaps they're also sat there, staring forlornly at their phone screens, praying to whatever deity they believe in that I'm eventually going to give them the gift of one of my texts.
It's a modern day romantic tragedy, but WhatsApp are about to ruin the romance. Soon, thanks to two blue ticks, I'm going to know beyond all doubt that I've just been being completely ignored this whole time. This is in addition to the regular grey ticks, which many have always confused as thinking their text has been seen. Thanks, guys.
source: independent.co.uk |
As of today, WhatsApp, which was recently taken over by Facebook in a deal worth billions of dollars, has been updated to show you when a message you have sent has been viewed by whoever you are sending it to. As we briefly mentioned in an article this morning, this feature is reminiscent of Facebook's 'Seen' feature, which shows when a message has been viewed by the other person in the conversation in a Facebook messenger chat.
Although this makes it sound like WhatsApp's people are taking advantage of its new owner's ingenuity, the feature actually pre-dates Facebook's implementation by a long time. Personally, I can remember it breaking my heart via MSN Messenger, and I'd put money on it existing even earlier than that.
However, what makes WhatsApp implementing the feature so newsworthy is that it is a messenger service, not an instant message service. While the difference may seem minimal, messenger services (SMS, texts, even email) like WhatsApp are designed to feature conversations which span many hours, with only a few messages sent from either party in that time. With these services, you can usually read someone's message, take a few hours to process it, then respond to it when you're good and ready.
As the title suggests, instant messages work differently. They're beneficial when you want to have a quick, instant catch-up with somebody, and inevitably end with one party pretending they have to go and then signing out. Once the conversation has slowed down, it may as well be pronounced dead on the spot.
source: mwhatsappforpc.com |
WhatsApp's decision to display when a message has been viewed has the potential to transform the very way in which we send and receive texts. Whereas it has traditionally been socially acceptable to leave a few hours before sending something back (at least I think so; social acceptability confuses me), the other party knowing for a fact that you've seen their message suddenly puts the pressure on you to respond in a timely manner. This means that, much like with instant messaging, text messages through WhatsApp could soon become instant, short-lived affairs. No more long-term text conversations of a few messages sent throughout the day. Just quick chats that shine brightly, but burn out quickly.
This update has the potential to kill multi-day text conversations. If you ask me, that's a bit sad.