{"id":4002,"date":"2025-07-16T22:58:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T22:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4002\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T22:58:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T22:58:14","slug":"selfish-whatsapp-trend-sweeping-uk-has-gone-too-far-im-ready-to-bin-phone-over-chat-misery-thats-only-getting-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/4002\/","title":{"rendered":"Selfish WhatsApp trend sweeping UK has gone too far \u2013 I’m ready to bin phone over chat misery that’s only getting worse"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXACTLY 2,120 notifications. This simply can’t go on.<\/p>\n

That’s how many times WhatsApp<\/a> pinged me last week. It works out at over 300 texts a day. I’m exhausted, and a nightmare app trend is making it even worse.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach is at his wit’s end with WhatsAppCredit: Sean Keach\"WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

There’s seemingly no end of WhatsApp notifications \u2013 and group chats are to blameCredit: Alamy<\/p>\n

I’m talking about group chats. Endless buzzing conversations with loved ones, pals, colleagues, strangers, and people I don’t even like.<\/p>\n

It seems like everything gets its own group chat these days.<\/p>\n

For a start, you’ve got chats with every possible configuration of family and pals you could imagine.<\/p>\n

Then there are the groups for long-forgotten after-work drinks, stag dos and birthday parties that won’t die. They pop up every few weeks like notification zombies, eating away at my brain and my patience.<\/p>\n

Why does being pulled into a chat for arranging some beers mean I’m condemned to a lifetime of tedious GIFs and tired memes?<\/p>\n

Yes, I know I can leave group chats, or just archive them.<\/p>\n

But it’s like playing whack-a-mole. Leaving them seems to invite even more into my life. It’s like one of those cursed dolls from a horror movie.<\/p>\n

Unsolicited invitations to conversations I don’t need to be a part of abound. Dozens of groups, all bombarding me like a digital Luftwaffe. Maybe it’s convenient for these group chat obsessives to add me \u2013 but what if I just want a bit of peace and quiet?<\/p>\n

I just went into WhatsApp Settings > Storage and Data > Network Usage to look at my all time stats. I’ve sent about 200,000 messages since getting WhatsApp, and received nearly 700,000. I can’t keep pace.<\/p>\n

And when I go into Settings > Screen Time on my iPhone to look at my WhatsApp notification count, I’m opening WhatsApp 16 times a day on average \u2013 with thousands of pop-ups a week.<\/p>\n

WhatsApp reveals exacty how to block one of your contacts<\/p>\n

By my maths, last week there were nearly 19 notifications every time I opened the app. It’s sickening. This isn’t how humans were meant to live. My phone isn’t always with me \u2013 so even going outdoors doesn’t fix it.<\/p>\n

There’s no escape unless I chuck my mobile in the bin. It’s tempting.<\/p>\n

Isolated, most of these group chats don’t seem too bad. I even like most of the people in them, honestly.<\/p>\n

But their misery is greater than the sum of their parts. They come together like a snowball of spam, crushing me under the immense weight of mindless chatter.<\/p>\n

SHOWER THOUGHTS<\/p>\n

The whole concept of online chatting is oppressive too.<\/p>\n

Just the other day, I was texting a pal and felt bad about going to hop in the shower mid-conversation. What if they think I’m ignoring them? Will they think something happened to me? It’s obviously nonsense, but the app makes it feel like you’re “always on”.<\/p>\n

I felt like a prisoner in my own bathroom.<\/p>\n

I did shower in the end, obviously. I won’t let the apps win. But their dominating effect is real.<\/p>\n

The sad truth is that I get so many messages that it’s literally impossible to read, absorb, and reply to them all in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

Not unless I pack my job in, cut off my hobbies, and glue myself to my phone.<\/p>\n

\"WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

I’m getting about 430 notifications a day on my phone \u2013 and almost all of them are from WhatsAppCredit: Sean Keach\"Network<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

I’m receiving way more texts than I can possibly sendCredit: Sean Keach<\/p>\n

I don’t even think I’m particularly popular. Some of you reading this probably have it even worse. How do you cope?<\/p>\n

The worst thing is, I’m hardly using social media. I’ve basically come off Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> to try to spend less time on my phone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If I was using those apps too, I don’t know how I’d deal with the onslaught.<\/p>\n

At least my bosses pay me to read my work emails. Trawling through my WhatsApp chats is thankless.<\/p>\n

It’s gotten so bad that some days, I don’t even bother opening the app. I think: if it’s important, I’ll hear about it in another way.<\/p>\n

Better yet, I remind myself that I can just talk to these people in person. Ask them about their lives in the flesh: “How are you? Going anywhere nice? What have you been cooking for dinner lately?”<\/p>\n

It doesn’t need to be a constant back-and-forth on WhatsApp.<\/p>\n

One small saving grace I’ve found is the iPhone’s Sleep Focus mode<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TRY ‘SLEEP FOCUS’ TO SAVE YOURSELF<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s not the perfect solution to your WhatsApp nightmare, but it’s a start…<\/p>\n

Just go into Settings > Focus > Sleep on an iPhone.<\/p>\n

Then you can customise your Sleep Focus to shut out notifications while you’re in bed.<\/p>\n

You can set up a schedule, so you won’t see notifications until you leave the Focus in the morning.<\/p>\n

The schedule can even have different times for weekdays versus the weekend.<\/p>\n

And it’ll even warn people trying to iMessage you that you’ve got notifications silenced (though they’ll be given the option to break through).<\/p>\n

You can even set it up to allow notifications from specific people. I have mine set to allow my wife and closest family members \u2013 but you can block everyone if you prefer.<\/p>\n

Picture Credit: The Sun \/ Apple<\/p>\n

This mutes notifications coming through at night, and hides them when I wake up. It’s only when I come out of the Sleep Focus that they appear.<\/p>\n

So I get some small respite from the WhatsApp carnage until my day properly begins. But it’s not enough. There has to be a better way.<\/p>\n

PEN TO PAPER<\/p>\n

Honestly, I’m convinced we need to go back to writing letters.<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks ago, I read out a handwritten letter from a family member to my wife’s 90-year-old grandad. It was a big update on their life in Australia, and it felt like a special moment.<\/p>\n

The message was an occasion. Not just a ping.<\/p>\n

Nothing feels special with WhatsApp. It’s just a constant flurry of thoughts, feelings, updates, and memes.<\/p>\n

Wouldn’t it be nice to write a letter to distant friends or far-off family members, maybe once a quarter? Tell them all the main bits, write it with love, and then get excited for the big update coming back in the post.<\/p>\n

There’s no pressure to reply right away. Certainly no damning “blue ticks” cruelly revealing when I’ve peeled the envelope open.<\/p>\n

\"Maybe<\/a><\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Maybe the solution is simple: sending letters againCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

And try “tagging” me with a bit of paper. I dare you. The closest you’ll get to rushing me is a first-class stamp.<\/p>\n

It would make chatting with loved ones feel more special.<\/p>\n

We’d all be reminded of what is actually important in our lives \u2013 and who we really want to share those thoughts, feelings, updates, and moments with.<\/p>\n

And you can bet I won’t be getting 2,000 letters a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXACTLY 2,120 notifications. This simply can’t go on. That’s how many times WhatsApp pinged me last week. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2596,304,226,2608,309,2609,1325,59,2266,2570,2607,370,224,86,2610,56,54,55,1235],"class_list":["post-4002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-android","tag-apple","tag-apps","tag-digital-exclusive","tag-england","tag-exclusives","tag-facebook","tag-gb","tag-longtail","tag-mental-health-and-illness","tag-section-techphones-gadgets","tag-sleep","tag-social-media","tag-technology","tag-tips-tricks-and-life-hacks","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-whatsapp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}