My Facepalm Moment

Of all the apps in the social media galaxy, WhatsApp has got to be the most annoying.

You are sucked into a world of meaningless gossip and your photo gallery is filled with unwanted images. Not to mention those inane jokes and of course, fake news. You are added to groups without consent. You cant exit them because you still have your manners. And then you are also required to explain yourself offline for your lack of participation in all the group frivolity. If you see a person glued to their phone, you know they have been pulled into an alternate dimension, never to emerge. Yes, Whatsapp must also be credited for creating a unique breed of people that are part alien, part zombie.

And as if all this wasn't enough, the app is also responsible for the butchering and maiming of English as we know it. 

Case Study-

I'd sent a greeting to a friend on her birthday recently. She replied with a dozen emojis and a sugary 'thank ew!' (With extra w's, mind you. You know as a back-up in case a few didn't find their way to me. The letter 'e' was most upset. It felt alone and unimportant).

Should I have been offended that she found my birthday wish cringeworthy or, that she did not express her repulsion behind my back like polite folks usually do?

Anyway, once the initial shock passed over, I realised 'ew' was meant to be a substitute for 'you'. 

I corrected myself. I should have been the one repulsed by this slaughter of language. 

And I wondered, how much typing time did she actually save by doing this? She settled for a two-letter word that didn't make sense when she could have tapped the screen three times for a word that was really what it should have been all along. 

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for shortcuts when I have to express myself at high speed. I can accept 'U' for 'You' and though I don't agree, I can even wrap my head around 'D' instead of 'the'. 

But to substitute a perfectly good word for one that's absolutely opposite in meaning is just such a face-palm moment in my head. 

Am I the only one to feel this annoyed by an app?  

Ges wl fynd out sometym soon enuf!