WhatsApp group politics

[AntiSocialSocialClub93]

Not really an AIBU, more of an ‘am I being the socially awkward one?’

Old friend of mine makes a WhatsApp group for her birthday each year. On two occasions I have cleared out my WhatsApp chats so to speak so I don’t have dozens of idle, silent chats from events that have passed and left two birthday groups she set up from different year.

Each time there’s been a jokey comment from her about how I’m storming off or something to that affect- fine, it was quite funny.

now I have a hen party group of hers added to this list from almost a year ago, and the summer wedding group. 100 members in the wedding group (it was created to just send a ‘thank you for coming to the wedding’ blanket message to the guests; settings were made so nobody could respond) and not a single person has ‘left’ the group.

I simply don’t understand, is there a politics where you shouldn’t leave these groups? 😂😂

Separate to this post, I think I’ve offended or pissed her off as she been acting very off with me for ages now, so I don’t want to step out of line 😅

I always leave groups when the moment has passed, I like having a tidy active chat list! I guess you could just archive them though?

There was a thread recently about how it's bad for the environment to not delete because all those messages have to be stored.

I don’t usually bother leaving those sorts of things, they just sit at the bottom of the chat scroll.

But anyone who monitors who leaves their chat group from their birthday event over a year ago is frankly unhinged, far less anyone who bothers making snarky comments about it. You sure you still want to be friends with her?

LadySnoresMuchly, I had no idea! Well that’s the perfect excuse if asked, isn’t it 😂

and trickabrick exactly, glad it’s normal feeling!

I’m a serial mute & archive. Love the new function where messages vanished after a certain number of days

I think now you can leave and people won’t be notified…. If I’m not wrong 😂 - I’m always leaving groups 😂

This is the thread.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5204201-why-do-people-exit-whatsapp-groups

"Yes - all those whatsapps (and photos and videos and games and emails) don’t just appear on our screens by magic.
Everything we do digitally involves the vast transfer of data through the internet from one place to another, brokered through datacentres. The data centres are huge physical warehouses powered by electricity and gallons of water to keep the servers cool. I’ve attached a photo of one of these data centres in the Netherlands. Storing all your WhatsApps!
It’s another reason to limit prolific sharing of data (photos or texts) through the internet as it’s contributing to global warming. Weird to think about it when digital feels so ephemeral it’s something we’re all going to have to consider in the near future. I imagine governments will have to start limiting it somehow."*
*

Mute and archive. She’ll never know and you get the same result

what has the environment got to do with not deleting Whatsapp messages that clearly a joke

it has the same thing “to do” with the environment - ie CO2 emissions - as not clearing your emails does.

I think a lot of people believe the “internet” works by magic.

I never leave groups unless I am indeed storming off.

If they're not active they just go to the bottom of the list and I never seen them. Feels like a lot of effort for very little benefit.