"If you do not forward this blog to 20 friends, something bad will happen to you in the next 7 days" - said every boomer on WhatsApp.
𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘳: this is not calling out any boomers in specific, it's all of them!! Starting with the ones in my home.
If you have not been subjected to a ‘Good morning with a baby or a sunflower or both’ forward on WhatsApp, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you may not be as loved by your family as you think you are!
If you’ve not read about ‘how garlic can cure cancer’ you don’t know or believe in science.
Let’s be honest here, our parents, uncles, aunts have lost it on WhatsApp. Somewhere between pagers and 2020 they just forgot how to fact check or stop using that forward button.
Here's a little sip of my lemonade:
March 2020, it’s the start of lockdowns everywhere, news just broke that Tom Hanks tested positive for Covid-19.
*ting*
Dad picks up his phone, reads something and proceeds to say the following: Zenia, Tom Hanks is dead 😑
Source: WhatsApp forward
Here’s my non-essential list of essential things for them Boomers:
Forwards = ‘I am keeping in touch’
Nope. Never has been. Never will be. Stop it.
Sincerely,
All your children, nieces and nephews
Everything you receive there, needs to be fact checked.
You can proceed to do the following - Google it/Ask an actual doctor/lawyer/engineer if relevant/check the authenticity of the source.
Let’s say you receive an article titled ‘Ginger cures Diabetes’ from youmustbelievethis.com, just please do not believe or forward it. Thank you.
If it’s a religious forward or something from a prayer or church group, it’s okay to take a moment to analyze whether it should be taken word for word or not. Sometimes, part of the forward will hold a good message but the rest can be misleading or even wrong.
You do not become an expert on any subject by reading 5-7 forwards on the topic. You have no thesis to defend.
It applies to politics, science, society, life, medicine, love, yoga. Everything.
Please just stop with the Good Morning Forwards to your kids or other people’s kids. Please. Just. Stop.
9 min videos. 5 min videos. 3 min videos = YouTube for us. Please don’t send them and ask about one specific detail in the video. We do not want to hurt your feelings, but we will also not download it.
NOBODY DIES IF YOU DO NOT FORWARD IT 20 TIMES. NOBODY.
I haven't figured out why this affinity to WhatsApp forwards. Why is it easier for them to believe a forward rather than even science and logic sometimes? I actually did a little survey and the best part was 80% of them answered, they do not like forwards and 7 seconds after I posted my survey questions, someone sends a forward. Oh! the irony.
Something that has started to work for me recently is when I simply ask them - Do they trust the source of the message or is this something they really want to broadcast? One of the 2 things happen:
(a) They acknowledge they didn't check the source and now that they have, it's not the best.
(b) They categorize me as an 'over-smart child'
Both result in them not sending the same volume of forwards.
Mission = Accomplished.
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