If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably fallen victim to the variety of social media and messaging apps on your phone. I admit I’m guilty of everything from endlessly scrolling on Instagram to religiously checking Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook to stay connected to people, events and trends.
But if I’m honest, WhatsApp is probably up there with the list of apps I check the most on my phone—something not every Canadian might relate to, though undoubtedly more than just a few can relate.
Even though I was born in Brazil and moved to Canada just over 12 years ago, I have still managed to keep close contact with my family back home all these years. The widespread adoption of online messaging platforms like WhatsApp in many places such as India, China and Brazil has made it a major part of the lives of many immigrant families. It allows them to stay in touch with people back home for free—and though I speak on its significance now, it would take a few years for me to truly appreciate its importance for myself and my culture.
Before I had a cellphone of my own, I used to beg my mom to use hers to check the family group chat on WhatsApp. It sounds melodramatic but how would you feel if your family had a group chat going on and, because you were nine years old with no cellphone of your own, you had no way to keep up with the drama? Exactly.
WhatsApp allowed me to check in on what everyone was up to. I was even part of group chats with people I didn’t know personally, like second cousins and estranged cousins. WhatsApp allowed me to connect with people I would have never known otherwise.
When I finally got my first taste at being able to send messages through my phone, I was hooked. At the time, the app was not free to download—which is no longer the case—but man was I happy to have it. But it wasn’t until after using the app for many years on my own that I realized exactly why I and so many others love it.
It’s because the Brazilian immigrant community in Canada—and likely other immigrant communities, as well—use WhatsApp as a way to stay connected back home with family and friends. Despite being apart, they can participate in each others’ lives through the app. Conversations with your loved ones are at your fingertips.
After moving to a new city or country, it’s easy—and common—to feel lonely. Using social media or group chats can help you make new connections to ease those feelings of isolation. Meeting people in your new city from the same cultural background can be a helping hand, giving you some tips and tricks they learned by going through it themselves.
There is one WhatsApp group in Canada that comes to mind when I think of the significance of the app for community and bonding. It’s called “Brasileiras in Halton,” which translates to “Brazilian women in Halton,” a municipality in southern Ontario. The group boasts over 250 participants, and since the maximum number of members allowed in a WhatsApp group is 256, it’s essentially maxed out. There are waiting lists to get into this group and people almost never leave. I’m not personally in the group chat but my mother managed to land a coveted spot. She sometimes tells me about its goings-on—and man, is it just as messy as you would expect.
There is the typical sharing of recipes, restaurant recommendations, places to visit, and deals in stores. But every once in a while, arguments break out resulting in trash talk that would make even Eminem blush. Consider the fact that this is a group of over 200 people who are often used to getting the last word in their household (the typical “Mom, why can’t we stop for McDonalds on the way back?” “Because I said so!” conversation enders, with a little Brazilian-Latina spice).
When you fill a group chat with people like that, things tend to get out of hand. The most recent debacle in the group began around Christmas. One member of the group ordered home-cooked food delivery for her family and it did not meet her expectations—something she expressed candidly by calling the business out by name. This led to a huge division in the group: some accusing the business of ruining the family’s Christmas dinner, and others arguing whether or not the customer had the right to drag the other person’s servicer—particularly as the cook was in the group chat herself!
WhatsApp has managed to weave itself into the lives of immigrant communities around the world. WhatsApp’s free mode of communication is a rarity for those in countries with bad cell phone coverage, making it even more valuable. The ability to make relatively high-quality video and voice calls through the internet is also a huge plus, as there is no need to schedule one’s calls, such as on Skype or Zoom.
The value of being able to instantly send messages through the internet to people on the other side of the globe is something those who have never been separated from their loved ones, attempting to navigate a new country after having spent thousands just to arrive there, may not quite understand. I was in shock when I heard my friends in Canada say they had never heard of WhatsApp. I couldn’t understand when they stubbornly refused to use it upon my suggestion, saying Instagram and Snapchat group chats could do the job better—despite accusations that the company that owns both these platforms was illegally collecting user data.
Maybe because my friends hadn’t grown up having to find a way to communicate with family members living tens of thousands of kilometres away, it was just not part of their lives. However, for me, WhatsApp is second nature. It is simply a must-have in my lineup of social media apps and an aspect of myself I could not—and cannot—cast aside.
Featured graphic by Pascale Malenfant.
