Somehow I'm now a member of well over 20 Whatsapp Groups... about a third of them are related to my main job, but I keep getting added to various social groups too, increasingly linked to events, although they are not so bad as they end and you can leave, it's the permanent social groups I dread being added to...
I guess like many of us digital citizens I have accumulated a lot of unwanted digital baggage over the last decade!
There can be a rather curious social dynamics of putting people on WhatsApp groups. At first glance, such groups might seem harmless enough - a convenient or straightforward method of making communal plans, or keeping old friendship groups alive.
But beneath lies a culture of assumed participation and possible accusations of rudeness towards those who take less of an active part in the group.
And then there is work-creep - Work whatsapp groups invade your personal space like nothing else.... and even if you're not expected to participate on your days off, those message pings infiltrate your consciousness on your days off and that is annoying!
A couple of easy solutions...
I'm personally up for joining those voices asking for work phones, I had one in my other job I just quit, makes it much easier to switch off from work, and keep personal and work like separated.
Meta could also easily introduce an option to default to asking user permission before they can be added to any group. This would go some way to reducing social pressure to take part.
I mean it is an irritation when all of a sudden I'm 'in' a group I never asked to be in.
Final thoughts...
I'm surprised this has never occurred to me before: how irritating it is for someone to add me to a group I don't want to be added to, it is just plain wrong!