The little green logo of a text balloon with a phone is widely known under young smartphone owners. WhatsApp is a cheap application allowing users to communicate freely.Not everybody is thrilled with this relative newcomer in the land of social media. Company owners complain that it keeps workers from doingtheir jobs andparents complain that students forget about their homework.-Lorraine Josiane Manishatse
People chatting on whatsApp ©Iwacu
WhatsApp Messenger is a smartphone application that works on iPhone, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.The application enables users to exchange instant messages with their contacts. Users can also transfer multimedia files, such as videos, images, and even voice notes.What makes it interesting is that it does not require pins nor usernames.Whatsappis widely known as ausefultool for fast and inexpensive communication.
According to AloysHakizimana, an International Communication Consultant and part-time Lecturer at the Université du Lac Tanganyika, everyone wants to use WhatsApp because it is an instantaneous communication tool.“Everyone who wants to be up to date, uses it,” Hakizimana says. For him, to communicate is indispensable as we communicate in order to satisfy our basic needs. “If someone doesn’t communicate, he can’t achieve his objectives”, he points out.
However, like many tools for communication and social media, WhatsApp has a downside.
“Often I surprise receptionists chatting with their friends, responding to messages orwatching video and pictures sent on WhatsApp,while there are clients waiting to be served”, a company owner in Bujumbura complains. “It is a big challenge in runningmy business, because they can’t give enough information about our products to customers when they pay more attention to WhatsApp.”
He believes every business owner should take special precautions concerning social media, for example banning the use of smartphones during working hours.“If they don’t use it carefully and responsibly they risk undermining the work of the company”, the businessman emphasizes.In many organizations it is already forbidden for employees to communicate on social networks, stating that WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and Viber applications are slowing down the company’s performance.
Hakizimana, the communication consultant, believes that if the employer uses this directive, his workers will feel trapped and productivity will decrease. “Communication creates a sentiment of safety. A happy and fulfilled, motivated employee who can communicate freely will increase productivity”, he reckons. The consultant suggests that adopting a participative approach between employers and employees by instituting new media and communication tools inside the organization’s structure may increase productivity. Regulating use is more effective than banning it altogether.
The widespread use of WhatsApp also concerns many parents. They fear that their children might fail in school because of WhatsApp.
“Fortunately, it is not allowed to use phones at school”, TherenceNtahimpera, a father living in Ngagara, says. “But after classes our children are deeply connected to WhatsApp. They forget about their homework.”
According to him, parents should pay more attention to the time their children spend using this application. Here, the communication expert agrees, saying that a child who communicates instantaneously, efficiently and in a regulatory mannershould have no problems succeeding in school. Regulating the time spent on social media is a good idea, but, he warns parents of excessive interference in their children’s social life. “If parents forbid their children to communicate through social media, the children will only spend more time trying to get around their parents’ rules”,Hakizimanaconcludes.“Instead, they could be studying.”
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