WhatsAPP Communication
The increased affordability of cellular devices and service plans has lead to dramatic growth in the use of mobile phones over the past decade. Over time, as devices have become more sophisticated, new uses have become popular. Initially, text messaging became a very popular form of communication, with individuals quickly sending short text-based messages to each other through their phones (Smith, 2011). The cellular service providers charge for text-messages, which are instantaneously delivered to another user's device. The charges associated with text-messaging have become cumbersome for some users, with individuals not subscribing to text-messaging plans often finding hundreds of dollars in text-message charges on their monthly statements (Smith, 2011). One solution to this problem has become the use of applications that attempt to mimic the behavior of text messages (Smith, 2011). One such app is the WhatsApp application, available on multiple cellular platforms, including iOS, Android and Blackberry.
The WhatsApp application mimics the experience of sending and receiving text messages, but does so through using the cellular device's data plan or wireless connection (WhatsApp, 2013). When a phone is connected to a wireless source of Internet connection, users avoid any charges associated with sending and receiving messages. When the phone is using a data plan, users may still encounter charges if they go over their data plan limitations, but they still avoid paying specific text-messaging fees. As such, the WhatsApp application has become quite popular as a method of communication that avoids additional charges and does not place financial limitations on the number of messages that can be exchanged.
Despite the growing popularity of the WhatsApp application, there are potential consequences for how we communicate with one another as a function of using WhatsApp. Because WhatsApp functions as an external application installed on a mobile device, the relaying of messages is dependent upon WhatsApp's servers. Traditional text-messages are sent directly through the cellular network, which can often make them more reliable than messages sent through programs such as WhatsApp. One serious consequence of this integral difference between WhatsApp and traditional text messaging is the opportunity for messages to be lost or delayed (CNet Staff, 2012). Successful communication often relies upon a flow of conversation in which responses are received in order and in a timely manner. If the technology that supports the WhatsApp application crashes or experiences temporary problems, communication can be delayed or relayed out of order. A common experience for WhatsApp users is that their messages arrive quite a while after they were originally sent and sometimes arrive out of order, consequently making it difficult for the recipient to understand what exactly the sender is trying to communicate. Such experiences can lead to frustration, miscommunication, misunderstandings, and even conflict.
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