3 Introducing WhatsApp
One of the most popular social media apps that students use in their time in Higher Education is WhatsApp Messenger, often just referred to as WhatsApp. It is a messaging system that allows you to send text, voice, photo and video messages as well as make voice and video calls. The messages can be sent on a one-to-one basis or to groups of people usually via their mobile numbers.
As it is one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the world, most of us will be familiar with its wide range of popular social features, instant accessibility and group chat function (which allows many users to be added to a single group).
To illustrate just how widely used WhatsApp is, complete the following polls.
As you can see from the results, the use of WhatsApp among students is very high. One of the most popular ways in which people use the app is in multiple person chat groups. This is the clear value of WhatsApp, alongside the fact that messages are instant and delivered directly to your phone with no need to log in. This makes it a very effective method for students to use when communicating with their peers. However, as anyone who has ever seen the following image will know, WhatsApp groups are not without their problems.
Communication in large groups is not always easy, and online - among people who don’t know each other very well - the possibilities for problems are ever present.
In this section, our focus will be on two areas. Firstly, we will introduce you to some of the advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp as part of your day-to-day studies via quotes based on real life student experiences. In the second part, we will introduce you to aspects of WhatsApp that can help you make more informed choices about when and how you interact with students on this platform.