Here's a helpful WhatsApp tip
An exercise in overthinking
Social media etiquette is a strange thing. Take WhatsApp read receipts for example. Behind the surface simplicity (ergo, has someone seen this message?) there’s a whole hidden art.
That’s why today I’m sharing a simple tip that has changed my entire relationship with WhatsApp.
Are you ready? Feeling good? Great, so here it is:
You can press and hold on a WhatsApp chat to preview the messages without actually reading them.
Will revealing this to a wider audience hang me out to dry? Probably. But, dear readers, I think it’s something you deserve to know.
Now, be warned feature isn’t perfect — it won’t let you scroll through every unread message, showing only the latest ones that fit on the screen — but it is incredibly useful.
Basically, pressing and holding on a chat lets you preview unread messages without notifying that person that you’ve read it.
Give it a try. Or, if you knew about it already, why not open WhatsApp and reacquaint yourself with the trick. You know, treat yourself.
You didn’t think we were going to end things there, did you? Of course not, this is The Rectangle, overthinking is integral to what we’re doing here.
The more I pondered about previewing unread WhatsApp messages, the more I asked myself a basic question: what the hell am I doing?
Effectively, I’m reading a message without letting the other person know that I’m reading it.
If this is what I wanted to achieve, why not just turn read receipts off in general? Live a peaceful life where no one knows if I’ve seen their messages?
Because, friends, this is unhinged behaviour.
Look, I don’t want to say that everyone who turns off read receipts is a psychopath, but, in a very real sense, that’s precisely what I’m saying.
Where’s the nuance? That extra, distinct level of communication? Turning off read receipts is akin to talking with a mouth full of jelly; you can get things done, but it’s not gonna be subtle or sane.
I will confess that writing all this almost changed my mind about keeping read receipts enabled.
Now that messaging apps have effectively usurped social media and become our de facto form of digital communication, the tools tend to be a heavy source of anxiety, with the constant need to respond makes me feel overwhelmed.
And, yes, before you ask, my WhatsApp notifications are turned off. Leaving those on in this day and age is worrying and troubling behaviour. If this is you, it may be time for some reflection.
This is why I like the option of previewing unread messages on WhatsApp. It allows me to take a little peek at a message and, if it’s really important, get back to that person straight away. If it’s not urgent, I can think on the content and respond in my own time.
Then there’s momentum. If I turn off read receipts and can check out any message, I don’t have the same urgency to respond.
Marking a WhatsApp message unread and seeing that numberless blue blob just doesn’t have the same mental impact on me as the actual digits. They beg me to get involved. I have to. I must. Which is why previewing unread WhatsApp messages is so important.
And all that, my beloveds, is a long-winded way of saying I really should get out more.