Joining What’s App or Viber groups can be a total nag most of the time. It consumes your phone battery , members blabber all at once and half of the time you can’t even follow what’s being discussed, your phone keeps vibrating or flashing every minute if not second and the list goes on. But there is an exception to every rule, sometimes a texting group including your close friends and family can brighten up your day.
1-The good mornings and the good nights
Those make you feel connected with your friends even when you’re feeling lonely or down.
2-The selfies
Good mornings and good nights are no longer just phrases we text, sometimes it’s a good morning selfie with your new outfit or another one on your way to work. My friends and I used to have a ritual when we were recently graduated from university. It was challenging enough starting a new hectic chapter in our lives and not seeing eachother daily made it even harder, so we decided to share daily selfies at work until we actually meet in real. Selfies can become too private at times to the extent that bathroom selfies have become the norm!
3-Always updated about each other
If you can’t handle your job anymore and you’re considering quitting, they are the first to know; when you meet this hot guy who might turn out to be the love of your life, they hear all about him before your outing is even over! You are up to date with every little tiny detail in each other’s lives, when you physically meet up or talk over the phone all you need to do is fill them in with the progress without telling your stories from scratch.
4-Always on top of social news (Gossip)
You are not only updated about your friends but about your friends’ friends. This is how it goes. Your friend posts a picture of her friend and her new boyfriend on the group, and suddenly everyone has something to add. You can actually meet someone for the first time already knowing the minutest details of their life, thanks to your chatty friend.
5-Source of inspiration and motivation
You feel down they lift you up instantly; you need a push you get it. That’s actually the most rewarding part of being in a group; I personally consider it one of my main support systems.
6-Easy way of arranging outings
Everyone will propose that their neighborhood is the perfect spot of course, but eventually after many opposing views you finally settle for a place. And it’s still a much more effective method than calling each other on the phone; “la2 ya Cookie asly kalemt Hana aletly en Heba we Aya 3ayzeen yenzelo bokra mesh enhrda, tab kalemee ba2a el ba2y we shoofy ra2yohom eh we hanruh fein we kalemeeni tany”. In a way, it’s like having a conference call minus all the blab bla bla…
7-Cheer you on during important events
Your first day at work, the night before your commencement, your sports competition, or handing in your thesis, the day before you propose or get proposed to. They’ll jam your phone with good luck pictures, warm kisses and zaghaaaareeeeet (el sha3b el masry ye7eb ye2avwar bardo)
8-Fashion Police
When you have an important interview, event, or even a date and you are going crazy about what to wear, there’s no need to panic! Just take pictures of yourself wearing the potential outfits and your Fashion Police will take votes.
9-General consultants and critics too!!
Their opinion does not stop at what to wear, but extends to almost anything and everything sometimes to a nagging extent that you feel the need to leave the conversation or even exit the group if matters get too distressing; when they all oppose you at once.
10-Having good laughs
For e.g. Fifi Abdou’s videos have their fair share of our chatting time (we khamsamwahhh we khamsayalla ba2a)
11-Getting better acquainted with yourself and your friends
Everyone has a definite character within their texting group. There’s the chatty one who always initiates gossip, the curious one who comes up with sudden random questions, the vain one who always posts selfies (el fanan), the whiner who’s always complaining, the cute one who’s always being made fun of (bonbonayet el group), the silent one who only reads and rarely participates (el samet el ghamed) ,and finally the clueless one who’s always late, hasn’t read anything and needs a recap.
What’s App groups in Egypt specifically usually have funny names and even funnier stories behind them. Names like shellet el ons, as7ab wala business, farfasha, omaha area, el coral, sorombat , sha2a 17 are examples. Most probably no one will understand the group’s name other than the members themselves.
