Find the culprits from the Istanbul attack

Find the culprits from the Istanbul attack

The brutal killing of 39 people by Daesh on New Year’s eve in a night club in Istanbul, Turkey was sad to read (‘Daesh claims responsibility for New Year’s nightclub attack’, Gulf News, January 4). Terrorism is unacceptable and the Turkish authorities are confident of bringing the culprits who are responsible for this to justice. Turkey should make elaborate arrangements to protect the tourists in the future. Daesh’s attack in Turkey was a surprise and the motive behind this is not yet known. I pray for the victims who are mostly foreign tourists who came to see the beautiful city.

From Mr K. Ragavan

Bengaluru, India

A social tool only

I have clients who send me business details on WhatsApp because it’s free, but I find that a bit mealy mouthed as it appears on my mobile and not on my computer at work where I can do a proper professional job (‘Going on a No-WhatsApp diet’, Gulf News, January 1). My seniors accuse me of being a tad old school, but I feel there should be a divide between social and business. I do use the platform for family connections and the odd photo, but I still mentally consider it a social tool and not a business tool.

I have a senior manager who thinks it is the best thing since sliced bread. So I follow his lead.

From Mr Keith Lupton

Dubai

Affecting communication

There is too much WhatsApp being used. I think most of us are used to WhatsApp much more than we even realise. This is definitely unhealthy, as our eyes and attention is glued to the notification messages or ringing on our mobile for a new message. We don’t wait to check them as if every message is worth a million dollars. This has reduced our face-to-face or telephonic conversations with people in the real world. Over usage of it has surely affected our lives negatively.

From Mr Ajeet Kumar

UAE

Assess friendships

I would suggest that balance is the key. My student life spent away from family and friends can be divided into a pre- and post-WhatsApp period. In my experience WhatsApp has been instrumental in maintaining ties with family and friends who are dispersed across the globe. It allows us to truly participate in each other’s lives in a manner that would not have been possible otherwise.

On the other hand, forwards and jokes can be distracting and, on occasion, even addictive. I have found that it helps to take some quiet time for a few days to assess one’s own usage of social media. This time away can also serve to bring to light various aspects of your WhatsApp friendships, which are otherwise drowned out in the daily chatter.

From Ms Priyavrata

Sharjah

Better than other platforms

I guess when it comes to getting connected, I would choose WhatsApp as the best means of communication. In my experience, I could feel more interactive in a normal conversation rather than being glued to other social media apps. I think the best way to describe it is “amused” rather than abused. You have the immediate reply to your conversation the way you want it aside from actually having a phone conversation with the vocal interaction, but still you can achieve the feeling of connectivity towards the people with whom you communicate. It gives you more focus on your conversation through messages unlike some other social media platforms where you have to accommodate all those visual and social interactions, but in reality you are not really connected.

From Ms Noel Malicdem

UAE

Have a detox

I agree with the writer, Padmini B. Sankar. Actually, I got a huge network with many groups and individuals connecting through WhatsApp, but I never forwarded blind messages. Rather, in my groups, spams, forwards and disturbing messages were not allowed. Taking a week to be offline is a good idea. I do it for Facebook every six months, it’s like a detox.

At the same time, important messages can’t be missed. I keep on my office WhatsApp on that gets less messages than my personal phone.

From Mr Sanjay Gupta

Dubai

Cutting down

I totally agree with the writer. I left two groups, one is of my childhood classmates, which has people spread all over world, so it was nonstop messages that were coming in all the time. The other group was with my family members. It was difficult for individuals like me to silently overlook their wrongs or things that I didn’t agree with, but for respect you can’t argue.

It’s now been more than three months and I am at peace. I am only using my WhatsApp for business. Sometimes it extends into casual conversation, but I avoid that.

From Mr Mujtaba Siddiqui

UAE

Use with care

You will find at least 20 to 25 unread messages out of which, you will get a minimum 15 pictures or video forwards! What do you do if you are travelling or if you have a huge contact base in your phone? The odd members who don’t think about the inconvenience that can be caused to the receiver when he forwards pictures and videos. It spoils the significance and benefits of using the platform.

If a person is so fond of disseminating information through WhatsApp, my suggestion is to first upload the voluminous files to either a blog or YouTube channel and then share the link. The receiver can, at his convenience, look at them and it remains there permanently for later referrals. Whereas, if you end up sending too many photos or videos, imagine the situation of someone who is traveling and has limited connectivity and storage capacity? The inconvenience caused will prompt the receiver to exit from such groups or block the sender.

For me personally, WhatsApp is an efficient communication medium, but people are not using it diligently. So much so that recently I had to prepare a warning poster and share it as my keynote on phone and social media to inform my contacts to be considerate on their WhatsApp messages. I also had to exit from four important groups due to the excessive volume of non-relevant pictures and videos being shared to members by some individual members.

From Mr Ramesh Menon

Abu Dhabi

Starts rumours

From my point of view, WhatsApp is being misused. All around the world this app is being used by millions of people. No doubt it is one of the best communication apps and the fastest, but nowadays a lot of people are using this app in a negative way. A lot of wrong and edited news is being propagated through this channel by this means, it is creating problems and also spoiling communal harmony in a lot of countries, too.

From Mr Lodhi Azmatullah Khan

UAE

Can be hurtful

No doubt WhatsApp is a boon for the current generation. Information and communication can be spread in a split second. However, over time, it is being misused as users have lately become addicted to this app.

People for their joy and delight share images and clips related to the private life of others. Also, it often happens that unwanted messages are sent to wrong group or an individual, which can be dangerous and equally embarrassing.

From Ms Saifee Tarwala

Dubai

Be in control

WhatsApp as a medium has revolutionised communication wherein most Public Relations and Marketing activities are carried out. There are pros and cons of every technology out there. Just like foods – good or bad – anything in excess is unhealthy!

The groups…. There’s ones for family – close and extended – I don’t even know why I was added to some of these groups. A group for cousins, we know them, they know us and it’s just for forwarding messages. A group for friends – school, college and current. There’s one for the workplace – one with the management, one with the boss, one with the colleagues, one with your team members.

It’s all about how you control it rather than how it controls you.

From Mr Haider Ali Mirza

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