Last year I studied the subject Group Psychology. Broadly speaking, this subject explains that any group is subject to a phase series or stages similar to those of human development. That is, groups are born, develop and finally die (or are reborn changing some aspect of the original group).
Some recent personal experiences have led me to wonder if the use of whatsapp is helping to accelerate the natural process of dissolution of a group. I explain. When there is some type of disagreement in the groups of flesh and blood (to differentiate them in some way from the WhatsApp groups) they usually form subgroups of people who share different opinions from the rest.
It may take some time for the rest of the group members to realize this division of opinions (if they ever find out) and decide to take sides in one direction or another. However, in whatsapp groups any member can express their opinion (or disagreement) directly forcing the rest of the members to take sides immediately.
And the problem does not only remain here. If any kind of personal dispute or out of tone between two members, the rest of the members find out. An argument that could be resolved in privacy tends to be magnified as both parties are aware that everyone is finding out about their fight and both want to be winners..
And once again, public disputes between two members help the formation of subgroups by taking sides with one of the two parties. The subgroup formation with different opinions are the previous step to the dissolution of the group.
I have come across this type of experience in WhatsApp groups formed with a concrete objective, for example in labor or sports groups. Usually these are groups in which you have to make some kind of decision. They are groups that have been formed with a top target to mere communication (for friendship if it exists) between its members.
This objective may be to carry out a common sporting practice or to promote business relationships between its members (they are personal examples, surely you are part of groups with different objectives).
It is less common for this type of problem situations to occur in groups whose sole purpose is to maintain contact and communication between their members, such as groups of friends..
If to all of the above we add the fact that WhatsApp is difficult catch the jokes and ironies (not everyone uses emoticons) the problem is accentuated.
1. Make the group's objective clear from the beginning. The reason for which the group has been created must be clearly communicated from the moment of its creation..
2. Restrict access to new members. New members must be endorsed in some way by one of the members of the group. Without this little prior filtering it is very easy for some "incendiary" element to slip through us.
3. Communicate the objective of the group to the new members in private and prior to entering the group. Not everyone has an alternative group of friends in which to share Julio Iglesias memes (and derivatives) and they make the mistake of sharing these contents in the wrong groups.
4. Use common sense. If we use common sense we can be flexible on any of the above points. The fact that a group has its objectives perfectly defined does not prevent the existence of small moments of fun in which to share certain types of content. This helps to relax the atmosphere and also gives cohesion to the group..
All this has been a series of reflections aloud about the groups on WhatsApp. Now I would love to know if you have also had a similar experience (good or bad) with whatsapp groups. You can leave your comment below.
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