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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not understand WhatsApp group chats?

91 replies

reallifeboogie · 02/08/2024 20:55

I've just read a thread where it seems the OP is in a WhatsApp group for the road she lives on. I don't understand why that would ever be needed?

What group chats are you a part of?
I've very reluctantly been added to one for my job which is very rarely used for work related stuff and most days every one writes good morning have a good shift. Wtf. I don't want 15 people messaging every single day. But I can't not be in the group because I will miss the very occasional important stuff.

OP posts:
Blueroses99 · 02/08/2024 22:13

PurpleMat · 02/08/2024 21:20

No one has mentioned this yet, but most street WhatsApp groups were set up for the first time during covid, ours certainly was. It started with people checking elderly neighbours were OK for food etc and snowballed from there.

This! I also used it to ask for feedback on the local schools as we had to apply during Covid and it wasn’t possible to look around. We coordinated making posters for birthday kids so they could see lovely messages on their daily walk. Useful for borrowing items or offering things to give away. Used to arrange street parties. Eventually became mostly about parking or bins - or both when inconsiderate parking stopped the bin lorry getting in - but that usually meant that someone would report a missing delivery on behalf of the street so we didn’t need to do it individually. The chat was not frequent enough to be annoying but v useful.

Taytocrisps · 02/08/2024 22:14

I'm in a few

Group for the estate where I live - they put up messages about things such as estate clean ups, dates for when the grass cutting money is due, warnings about attempted break ins of cars with videos of the culprits etc. They also informed the residents about some damage that was done during a bad storm when some trees and a fence blew down. Then they gave us updates about who they had contacted to rectify these issues and when they would be sorted. I have this one muted, so I just check in every now and again.

Local community group I'm a member of - they put up messages about meetings and events and things that might be of interest to the group.

Book club - they put up messages about meetings and details of the title/author of the book we're due to read before the next meeting and occasionally other things of interest to booklovers.

I'm in a few family groups. One for my wider family (20 odd members) and one just for my siblings. In the wider family group, we exchange birthday greetings and occasionally post photos or greetings from our holidays or we embarrass the nieces and nephews by posting photos of them when they were small and then exclaiming about how cute they were.

The siblings group is for when we want to share something amongst ourselves only, like when my Dad was ill. Or maybe something in the news about the street/neighbourhood where we grew up. Or if an old neighbour or friend of the family has died, we post the funeral arrangements and discuss who is going to the funeral. Our nieces and nephews wouldn't have the same interest in these things or know these people.

Assorted work groups (mostly retired colleagues). We meet for lunch from time to time. I'm still working so I tell them all the news and keep them up to date on who is retiring and who has died.

Assorted friendship groups.

Sounds like a lot and I guess it is. But sometimes weeks will go by with no posts.

cariadlet · 02/08/2024 22:19

1 family (myself, dp and dd)

2 work ones - a whole school one that no-one posts in very often but is useful to have and one for the teachers in my year group. We use that a lot.

1 for an anti-racism group I'm involved in.

About 9 different WRN WhatsApp groups.

About a dozen to do with the political party that I'm a member of.

It's a bit of an overload sometimes but they are all very useful means of communication.

PermanentTemporary · 02/08/2024 22:20

God I'm in about a thousand. I love them, they are a genuine step forward in communication IMO. My busiest ones are the team one at work (we are a group of community therapists working all over one county), individual groups of treating therapists for complex patients, book club, uni sports friends, various combinations of Mum friends, wild swimmers, art group, big cousins group, aunts and nieces/nephews group, etc etc...

That being said, I don't do online street groups after a massive racist row on the street email group a few years back. I have no need to know very much about my neighbours.

theeyeofdoe · 02/08/2024 22:23

Was that me?
we have a road chat which is used for things like:
changes to bin collection, something blocking the road, lost pets, someone scared of intruders, a blow down fence, a road party. Basically anything.
I also have a several job chat groups, a book club chat, Pilates chat, a village chat and job higher qualification group chat!

They’re really useful.

MagicianMoth · 02/08/2024 22:24

We have a street WhatsApp, it's very useful. Eg we.had a card through the door on Valentines day clearly from a child to a.child, we were able to find out what number the intended recipient lived at and.deliver it.

In terms of chat groups it's hard to know how to define them. I'm in loads of different friend groups many of which were set up for specific events or are.overlapping groups eg Friends A B C D, Friends D E F G, friends A and.A' s husband, Friends A B and C, etc etc.

CautiousLurker · 02/08/2024 22:25

On a street whatsapp. All 100+ homes on it since a series of home invasions/burglaries.

I mute it when it gets a bit annoying but its been a godsend as we worked together with the police and MP to get some action, when a lovely neighbour passed, when people have got locked out. I joined reluctantly, but it’s been a really cohesive force.

paradisecircus · 02/08/2024 22:26

For any group over 3 people the mute button is your friend, OP. You can still see that there are messages there, you just don't get the annoying notifications.

Cobblersorchard · 02/08/2024 22:27

Loads here!

A social work one - we share a few photos, talk about non work things
A neighbours one - just for parcels and general chat (we have similarly aged kids that play)
A village mums one
A school year group one
A photos one for sharing photos of our daughter with our families on both sides
A my family one
An NCT one
A nursery mums one
A livery yard one
A pony club one
A hunt one
A friends one

Those are the active ones that I can remember. I love a group chat.

pelargoniums · 02/08/2024 22:30

I love our street WhatsApp! Through it I’ve borrowed a rake, a wheelbarrow, a stud finder; lent someone a tablespoon of mixed spice in a baking emergency; and scored a free wallpaper steamer. It’s great for finding someone to put your bin out when you’re on holiday, taking in parcels, tradesman recommendations, scurrilous gossip, free cake, and catching up on the orphaned baby seagull saga.

I’m also in a school one (muted), family (muted), and mum pals for playdates/pickups/wine admin.

Taytocrisps · 02/08/2024 22:31

@pelargoniums I need an update on the orphaned baby seagull.

MyKidsAreTooNoisy · 02/08/2024 22:32

I’ve just checked and can see I’m in 26 groups which have been active in the last couple of months. Not sure why a PP suggested that sticking to insta and facebook was somehow better. It’s just a communication tool - nowhere near as much humble bragging and general twattery as on proper social media.

ItsAlrightDarling · 02/08/2024 22:33

OP say you’re organising a gathering/trip with a group of friends (or someone else is), is all the information just sent separately to each person? Surely it’s easier to do it in a group chat?

Lavenderfields21 · 02/08/2024 22:33

Our street one has come in handy for a lost cat, plumber recommendations, someone borrowing a ladder and giving away furniture.

spiderlight · 02/08/2024 22:34

Our street group chat was started during lockdown with the intention of being for people to ask for help, and it was a godsend if someone needed a lateral flow test popping through their door or needed help getting shopping etc. Now it's mostly people asking about the bin collection and the guy in no. 52 who has crowned himself King of the Bins telling them off for not looking on the council app, although we do occasionally have useful 'Does anyone have a garden fork I could borrow for an hour?' type posts or people tracking down parcels. Other than that, I'm only in a family group chat and a group for our allotment site at the moment.

Ariela · 02/08/2024 22:34

I'm one a committee one for something I volunteer with - this is useful for when we have events /things going on between meetings. I'm also on the main user one which is announcement only for the group.

I'm on a road/area one - we use this for various reasons currently surplus fruit and veg, recently group buying for oil - we got 55.5p/litre vs 58.5 on Boiler Juice due to about 10 people ordering. We have meet ups, parties, and the usual parcel retrieval/acceptance, babysitting requests and offers (popular with the teens), as well as extra help in snow/when trees fall down/elderly need hedge cutting or someone needs welding or dog sitting, all dealt with by the road.
Finally I have a family one, handy when eg using the train and needing pick up from the station/food items needed from the supermarket, or timing of a parcel arriving etc.
We have one for the yard my eldest keeps her horse at - handy for when the farrier is coming or whatever.
We don't have a work one

rainbowbee · 02/08/2024 22:34

I have a family one, a work one, one for an activity group/arrangements and one larger social one which is like local Google. You can always mute/archive them if you feel your phone is too busy.

Highlandcathedral · 02/08/2024 22:38

I’m in loads. Village one (like a street one as we are actually a small hamlet). Work (our business, only a total of 18 staff, really useful). Family (DH, me, both kids and their spouses). Extended family on each side. Girlfriend group. Best friend and her extended family group. People I know from being in school. (50 years of friendship) etc etc.

All are really useful ways of communicating with a group in one go.

RLouiseH · 02/08/2024 22:38

I’m in multiple group chats with various groups of friends (some where there’s 3 of us, one up to 17) they are really useful for organising events (otherwise the back and forth between loads of different people would be agonising)… and also just for general chit chat and gossip.

In a work one, family one and yes- the local street one! The street one is great for finding lost parcels, lost cats, chit chat about road closures etc.

I like all of them, make my life easier for sure!

daffodilandtulip · 02/08/2024 22:40

7 for work but they are only used during the work day to communicate with those people as things happen.

Me and my teens. I post important info about plans/times etc, son ignores it and daughter posts sarcastic memes 👍

Two for the kids clubs - goes mental on arranging days then it's quiet - and one friendship one which is sensibly quiet as we are all introverts.

GoldenRetrieverBert · 02/08/2024 22:46

reallifeboogie · 02/08/2024 20:55

I've just read a thread where it seems the OP is in a WhatsApp group for the road she lives on. I don't understand why that would ever be needed?

What group chats are you a part of?
I've very reluctantly been added to one for my job which is very rarely used for work related stuff and most days every one writes good morning have a good shift. Wtf. I don't want 15 people messaging every single day. But I can't not be in the group because I will miss the very occasional important stuff.

Is it really that difficult to understand why it might be needed?! Some recent topics on ours:

  • who has which broadband provider
  • apologies for parking/builders/noise whilst someone has their driveway done
  • anyone seen the missing recycling bin
  • does anyone have any cardboard boxes spare for a craft project
  • missing a parcel - anyone seen
  • dodgy person spotted
  • anyone got any moving boxes
  • would anyone mind putting the bins out whilst we're away
  • going on hols and have loads of fresh food in fridge - does anyone want
  • faulty street light, has anyone reported
  • anyone got any double sided tape
  • having a party/bbq, apologies for noise
  • having a party/bbq, anyone want to come

Etc etc

Used pretty much daily

RightOnTheEdge · 02/08/2024 22:48

I'm just on two for my kid's sports teams.
We did have one for work but they've made their own internal message thing now.

I've never been on a street one, everyone around here just posts all the bins, lost cats and strange men stuff on the local Facebook Grumbler.

I haven't got any family ones, my kids and other family members use Snapchat and my parents still use FB messenger.

rockstarshoes · 02/08/2024 22:54

Street one
Can you put my bin out
Can you bring my bin in
Collect a parcel
Does anyone want any home grown - add vegetable

First dips on stuff people are getting rid off!

We had one guy who was a DIY expert people would post their DIY questions but he's moved - a great loss!

Ring doorbell footage - they are usually good!

Gardening questions

There was one instance where people were slagging off one neighbour but had forgotten he was actually in the group!

Lost cats

The list of who lives at what number that gets posted when someone new moves in is useful!

I love our Street WhatsApp!

I have work ones & friend ones too! And little groups set up to organise something - I don't know how I ran my life before what's app!

otravezempezamos · 02/08/2024 23:00

We had a street one for the Jubilee Street party and we kept it to organise a Christmas mince pie and mulled wine party, summer party etc.

I am not part of the work one. I only have one phone and don't want to be contacted for work related things when at home.

I have one for our running club to organise competitions, lifts etc, and we have one for the family, originally set up for my gran's care (more like for my mum and me to put updates on my gran's care while the rest did nothing but hey).

CraftyOP · 02/08/2024 23:09

We have a work group chat which is only used for people wishing each other a happy birthday. It's mine at the weekend and I'm dreading all the birthday messages from my colleagues

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