It was an unfulfilled dream for so long – being able to un-say spoken words; recall sent messages. In films and sitcoms we would see people going to alarming lengths to ensure that the intended recipient did not see the regrettable/dangerous/scary/hurtful message sent inadvertantly. And then WhatsApp snapped its fingers and presto we were able to take back our words and recall/delete messages; undo life in a sense!
The ‘last seen’ feature was bad enough for stalkers and compulsive WhatsApp checkers. People imputed motives, imagined scenarios and came to complete (usually inaccurate) conclusions based on that ‘last seen’.
And then came the tick, ticks and the blue ticks which made us presume on the heartlessness and callousness of the recipient of a message.
Many had been praying to be able to un-send messages sent in error so when WhatsApp did this, they raised their hands and gave thanks by saying “भगवन तूने मेरी सुन ली !” or something akin. In one fell swoop, WhatsApp gave people the power to save their relationships, avoid shocking older family members, keep secrets and more!
We get emotional, sentimental and altogether too uninhibited when inebriated. Alcohol tends to loosen tongues and spill secrets which can translate into some regrettable and at times frankly awful messages. All will be well however, so long as we recover from that mistaken drunken verbosity in time to delete the message; before the recipient has had time to see it.
You never want your ghastly boss to actually know what you think of him – right? Because that would lead to a situation where your boss is no longer your boss – and not for a good reason! Luckily you realised that the venting message you imagined you were sending to your friend actually got sent to your boss – just in time!
So you were angry when you sent the message; you aren’t angry now – thanks to that un-send feature, you're still in a relationship!
Good grief! Did you really send that terribly risqué joke to your family group? Or that wildly unsuitable porn gif to your old school group that included teachers? Well, luckily for you, you were able to delete that offensive little missive before the Hindi teacher with the gimlet eye and your dear dadi had had a chance to view it. There is at least one awful uncle and a fellow backbencher still sniggering though.
You say happy anniversary to the newly single person. You say congratulations to the newly bereaved widow. You convey your condolences to the happy newly married couple. You delete it all! Just in time! Than unsend feature can be a real life saver!
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