When WhatsApp Stops Connecting Us and Starts Consuming Us Technology was supposed to make communication easier. Instead, many of us now carry a small source of anxiety in our pockets. WhatsApp has become so deeply embedded in everyday Malaysian life that it is difficult to imagine a normal day without it. Families organise themselves through WhatsApp groups. Businesses depend on it. Schools use it to communicate with parents. Friends make plans through it. Community groups share announcements, warnings and, occasionally, questionable information. It is undeniably useful. But usefulness can become dependence. And dependence can become unhealthy. The problem is not WhatsApp itself. The problem is the expectation that we must always be available because WhatsApp makes it technically possible. A message arrives. We check it. Another arrives. We check again. A group becomes active. We feel compelled to see what is happening. Someone has read our message but has not replied. We s...