2018-08-03Staff Report 2 Help, I want to ‘left’ my WhatsApp group Have you been added to numerous Facebook groups, or forced to ‘like’ all kinds of pages from “Emancipation Forever Team” to “Young Warriors of Democracy”? Or are you stuck in a WhatsApp group that does not serve its purpose anymore? Well, I have got both bad and good news for you… The bad news is that you ain’t seen nothing yet, and the good news is that you are not alone – million others around the world are in your shoes. Ever heard of misery loves company? We get it; social media is here to stay. I mean, it has made communication easier and closed the communication gap more than any other form of communication. But the person who invented WhatsApp should be punished for not creating a button where we can all sneak out of a group without being announced that “Charlie has left”. I am not even referring to my people from Omaheke Region who would complain when they see you in the street by saying “You must never ‘left’ our group again”. I am more worried about the group admins who would call you up personally and demand an explanation as to why you left the group! At that moment I want to shout ‘freedom of association’ or ‘freedom of choice’, but these guys mean business. I tell you; they would put you back on and announce to the whole group in a veiled threat that you are back and will never be allowed to ‘left’ again! I remember a conversation I had with one of these admins – who prior to that day never even commented on a topic at hand or shared his views – on why I left the group. “So you are leaving a group of your own family? Who does that?” he asked me. “I have become extremely busy and may not have time for it, that’s why I left,” I responded. “But mbuae …you cannot leave a family group – you cannot become someone else. It’s in your blood mwatje” I left it at that. Come to think of it, I did not even asked to be part of the group. And therein lies another flaw the inventor of WhatsApp need to correct! I swear you could be out of network reception for a few days and when you return, you would have become a member of “Lucifer’s Crew”, “Kabouters van Droomland” and “MacGyver, the Genius” groups! The good thing about social media however is that you can be whoever you choose to be – a billionaire, fortune teller, therapist, or casanova – all you can dream of becoming. Just talk the ‘talk’, act the ‘talk’ and you will become the ‘talk’! Oh yeah, I have scored big that way. On social media, I am a fitness instructor and motivator. Of course the pictures I have on my profile are those of some dude who had probably been working out all his life. Oh, hail the internet! The pictures are a perfect cover for my kapunda; what you don’t see, won’t hurt you! Until then… tjatindi@gmail.com 2018-08-03Staff Report 2
