This Indian Life by Shoba Narayan: On conquering WhatsApp addiction

Tips and tricks for the most common instant messaging problems

Abhijit (Bobby) Bose, the head of WhatsApp India is a gracious man whose easy smile belies a sharp analytical mind. Having known him socially, I approached him last week with a crushing problem. I wanted him – the head of WhatsApp India – to help me conquer my WhatsApp addiction. While the irony of the question didn’t escape him, he gamely texted me on WhatsApp naturally: “My main advice (that works for me when I can do it) is to try NOT to look at WhatsApp for the first hour after waking up. I drop the boys off to the school bus and (rarely but sometimes) go for a run before picking up the phone and checking messages.”

WhatsApp is like flying blind. It expunges context and exaggerates tone(Photo imaging: Parth Garg)

The ubiquity and frequency of WhatsApp messages give us the illusion of closeness