Digital exclusion

How removing people on Whatsapp groups is the new Social boycott

As I write this article today, there’s a bitter war going on between members of my family and relatives. It is quite serious but the reason why the feud broke out is actually quite funny. The whole thing started when one of the family members decided to remove another person because he was quite annoying with his posts and now it has snowballed into an all out feud. Why is this funny is anyone’s guess. Getting removed from a whatsapp group is the new way of social exclusion for most people.

I remember watching this movie called ‘Bulandi’, where the head of the village punished criminals where they and their entire family will be boycotted from the entire village. That meant no one can help them, no one can talk to them and they must find their own means to survive. The movie called this thing ‘hukka paani band karna.’ In this day and age it might be hard to imagine something like that but that is exactly what is happening in the whatsapp groups created these days. One removal and the person removed makes an ego issue out of it.

I’m not really proud of it but I too have done this, thrown tantrums called out names to the admins and reacted in a pretty stupid way. However now I am thinking is this really the way to go? I mean so what if you got removed from a group? What if someone blocked you on facebook? Is it really that big a deal? Will your life stop? Have we become such a slave to the digital tools around us that they have started owning us instead of the other way around.

Do yourself a favour and get your head out of your @$$ . Whatsapp and facebook isn’t what your life is all about. In fact it should be a very small part where you use it to keep in touch with others and if someone doesn’t want to talk to you, move on and connect with the remaining 400 or so people in that contact list.

The fight is still going on and some people are really pissed. Not a pretty sight but makes for great entertainment. :-P

#TVI