this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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"just whatsapped me"
Lol, fuck off, he sent you a message, not all apps and websites need to become a fucking verb
Odd hill to die on but I'm kinda for it.
Yeah I'm gonna pipe my opinion here too. If I said "so and so signaled me" that would be very weird in any context. Facebook Messengered me? iMessaged me? Smsed me? Snapchatted me? I mean fuck twitter people said "dmed" me not twittered me
If you told someone in Europe you were going to txt them they would think you were weird
"What you don't have whatsapp? It's literally free"
Europeans don't text, they use messenger apps, mostly WhatsApp
It really depends on the country. SMS is still commonly used in France for instance.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1005178/share-population-using-whatsapp-europe/
I wonder if France had cheaper SMS rates in the early 2000s because that was the big driver of WhatsApp. I have to admit though in my experience I don't think I know of any situation where someone from France has ever used anything other than WhatsApp. I would hate it if they texted me because then it wouldn't auto translate.
Standard mobile plans in France have included unlimited SMS since the mid 2000s I'd say. People still use it, but WhatsApp/Messenger are pretty popular too.
French people actually use MMS, which I never thought anyone would.
That's texting and anyone who says it isn't is a fucking idiot, unless they're only communicating via emoji or some wild shit
In my country SMS is free
True but only if you really specify "SMS", because if you just say "I'll text you" they'll just assume that means WhatsApp/messenger.
This is a very American mindset though because people absolutely do say "I'm going to whatsapp you".
Why would that be a hill to die on? It was just a response. No one was insisting on anything.
nah I like to flex that one of my friends Signaled me
War plans?
maybe
at least that's an actual English verb
Your mom just Bumbled me.
Jokes on you, you grandma just Onlyfansed me
What a weird thing to get angry at.
I think using brands as verbs might be very normalised in the US but it's less common elsewhere.
It's not offensive but it's... jarring or noticeable.
Here no one would say whatsapped or telegramed or signalled. It's just messaged.
Are they angry?
Plus the additional information can be useful. If someone says "I'll whatsapp you the details" you might respond with: "No I don't have internet connection, just SMS me instead" or "I don't use whatsapp, how about signal". At the very least you know where to look for the message
Easy to say when you have balls of steel
Fred Grindred me last night.
It's like those guys that name brand EVERYTHING.
"Can you get my iPhone 17 extreme from my Hermes leather jacket, it's in the backseat of my Audi R8."
....fucking cringe.
VELCRO EXCEPTION!
"Is that xerox a Canon?"
Whatsapp is the only real form of instant communication in my country (Jamaica), because it still costs money to send texts and a lot of other messaging services aren't even available/supported in the region.
No way in hell do I believe that Signal won't work on Jamaica.
Tons of things work.
When people say things like that, they don't understand technology and just say that the popular thing is the "only" way.
In my case, good luck convincing the average Jamaican to switch to Signal, same problem everywhere! Just trying to give context to the verb "whatsapp".
I don't think they actually said that I think they were just saying that WhatsApp is the primary method of communication in Jamaica
They were clearly saying that
It was probably easier to say that, than explain the social forces at work, but still, they said it.
Signal did not replace expensive texting and offer free wireless communication for the first time EVER in basically every developing country. Get off your high horse.
It might not have been a message, it might have been a WhatsApp video call. In which case 'whatsapped me' is a little shorter than 'just video called me' or 'just WhatsApp video called me'.
The app is over a decade in popular use, people will integrate it into language.
Whatapp is the preferred messaging app for most of europe because it subverts the complicated and sometimes expensive telephone networks
It's the same as saying you txted someone
All my international coworkers when I travel ask me to use WhatsApp. It saves them money and makes it easy to connect to others. Anyone in this thread shitting on it has either never traveled internationally or is just an asshole.
I am the asshole.
I refuse to install that goddamn app.
When I'm in Europe and people want to catch up, I'm the one forcing them to open their email. Or to actually dial the phone.
No one is shitting on the app, I'm shitting on the language used, go read what I wrote again.
Or if you prefer
No one is Totoing on the app, I'm American Standarding on the language used, go read what I Gboarded again.
I wasn't replying directly to you and was replying to someone else, adding support to what they said. Context matters, but I can see why you could take what I said out of context.
Personally I will use whatever app as a verb if it suits the moment or conversation at hand. Language can be fluid and doesn't always have to conform to a strict set of rules - see slang used in any language globally.
Yep, I agree it's pretty annoying. What's ironic though is that in the spirit of shortening everything (like many Americans seem to do), "texted" would've been shorter (and in this instance there's nothing particular about which app they used to do that).
It might be to highlight that he used WhatsApp, which is popular in Europe but not America.
Sure, but it still doesn't change the story. It's a piece of text, it gets from one person to the other over a mobile network or over the Internet.