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Leaving the WhatsApp Group Was the Best Thing I Did for My Mental Health
Why passive-aggressive group chats and digital friendships are no substitute for real-life relationships
A few weeks ago, I left a WhatsApp group.
Not quietly. Not with a polite explanation. I effectively threw my toys out of the pram and walked away.
The reaction surprised me. A few people reached out. Others seemed genuinely shocked. After all, this wasn’t some random internet forum full of strangers. These were real friends. Good friends.
We’ve been through university together. We’ve stood at each other’s weddings. We’ve celebrated housewarmings, jobs, promotions and the arrival of children. We’ve spent decades in each other’s lives.
And yet leaving that WhatsApp group has brought me an unexpected feeling — relief.
Not because I don’t like the people in it. Quite the opposite.
It’s because somewhere along the way, the group chat became a poor substitute for the friendship group that once existed in real life.
When Banter Stops Being Fun
The group centred around football.
