Life without social media would be relaxing and not taxing

A life without social media is difficult to imagine in current times. Already there is a lot of controversy surrounding social media. WhatsApp has already announced that the user data will be shared with Facebook and Instagram.

So what is WhatsApp trying to do?

Data is no more personal — **Honey I am keeping the phone. WhatsApp is listening to our end to end conversation**

WhatsApp has asked users for their consent to share their data. Once a user has given the consent WhatsApp would share transaction data, mobile device information, IP addresses, and other data on how users interact with businesses on WhatsApp with Facebook group companies including Instagram. There has been a huge hue and cry over the privacy issue on social media and how it will impact the life of an ordinary user. The government has intervened and WhatsApp has delayed the decision for three months.

One thing we all will agree that social media has made our life more complicated. So let us imagine a world free of social media and see how it will impact us.

Life without Facebook on social media

The Facebook family has some 2 billion members and if translated into reach, it means that FB connects 28% of the global population. The day Facebook closes shop the world of FB users will go tipsy-turvy. Members will not know where to post the pictures of their latest family vacation or birthdays and marriage anniversaries.

In absence of social media the digital friends will disappear — **Last birthday I got 300 wishes and this year only 30.**

People will suddenly realise that they are not so popular. The 500 digital world friends have vanished and the list is now reduced to 40. And the only way to keep in touch with them is to call them over phone. Facebook is not there anymore to remind you about the 500 birthdays. On the other hand, you feel quite relieved that you don’t need to wish 1-2 friends every day on their wall.

Life without social media will become more personal

The family vacation for everybody becomes more a private affair than a public affair. Kids would enjoy the real vacation. Jumping in sea water and splashing water on everybody’s face will be real fun. The pressure of taking a selfie will be off everybody’s shoulders. Whether you are vacationing in Goa or an international destination nobody cares except you and your family.

The selfie syndrome — **It’s time to enjoy vacationing rather than just clicking**

If you have got engaged or married you will only get the real wishes either in person or over the phone. No more wishes from a chain of friends whom you have probably met once in your lifetime. The family pictures of your 10th anniversary either hang on the rear wall of your bedroom or in a photo frame in the living room. Your friends visit you on your anniversary to wish and surf through the family album refreshing the beautiful memories.

Political debates would be relegated to auditoriums and stages with only an interested audience willing to listen to them. The debates will no more be one-sided with both sides getting an opportunity to present their side of the story. The Bhakts will be relegated to the places of worship. There will be no more heartburn because you follow one party and not the other.

No more status reporting on Instagram

Life without social media will mean no more updates — **Status update: No more on social media**

The millennials are the ones who will be in a state of shock once Instagram goes out of their lives. How will their friends come to know about their status – whether single or in relationship? The rage for i-phone XI or an Android phone with 4 cameras will just vanish in thin air. What is the fun of clicking pictures if you can’t post them on your feed or add them to your stories? One thing is sure that in life without social media the craze for selfies will go down.

The wedding pictures, the birthday celebrations, a selfie in the latest outfit all will take a backseat in everybody’s life. Friends who have become tired of reading the philosophical lines on life and the life- lessons will heave a sigh of relief. There will be complete freedom from forcefully liking pictures of friends clicked on terrace or hill station.

What’s life without WhatsApp

WhatsApp has become an integral part of our life. Every person on social media is a part of thousands of groups – some by choice and some by default. There are times when you create a group and there are times when you get added to a group without consent.

WhatsApp creates a lot of gossips and fake news — **Smiling in spite of getting added to a WhatsApp group without consent**

One thing I can say for sure that 80% of the content on 80% of the group is just trash. WhatsApp has its advantages but considering that its services are free it becomes a problem also. The members can start a great day even without receiving good morning messages. On the other hand, the messages from the house of Lord and the Karma messages if practiced by the sender can drastically improve his life rather than the life of the members.

WhatsApp has become an integral part of life

The gossip girls will lose a lot of edge in absence of masala news on their social circle. Moms will miss the updated information on the movement of kids. In absence of WhatsApp, it will be difficult for her to find out whether the daughter has started back from the late night party or if the son will have dinner at home. Family and friend groups will not only miss the day to day chats but also the get-togethers planned. Invitation to wedding and reception on WhatsApp group will be a thing of the past and one will have to print hard-copy invite and ensure it’s delivered.

The real work-life balance will start for the employees once the team stops getting day-in and day-out messages from the boss. The Boss will have to fall back on emails to get an update on sales targets and inventory position. Arnab Goswami of Republic TV would have wished if WhatsApp never existed as the end to end encrypted messages exchanged by him with the BARC CEO ended up with Mumbai police.

Life without a tweet on social media

Tweets by celebrities often creates a lot of controversies — **My simple tweets have become so complex**

If the world ever faces a third world war situation then part of the blame can go to Twitter. Twitter has been made popular by celebrities. It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword and Donald Trump was the first one to realise the importance of tweets. Twitter became his official platform for announcing policy decisions to sacking team members. The irony is that Twitter also became his Waterloo when his followers attacked the White House.

Twitter has become a place where people wash their dirty linen. The Queen of Bollywood Kangana Ranaut has fallen from grace by her unnecessary ranting. On the other hand the latest victim of Twitter is Rajdeep Sardesai, the famous news anchor of India Today TV when he shared unverified news of the killing of a farmer during the capital invasion by the farmers. Life without tweets on social media will be like life without sarcasm.