Four in ten Brits say they could not live without the app this festive season
- According to a YouGov survey commissioned by WhatsApp, 41% of British WhatsApp users say they could not live without the app this Christmas
- Over a fifth (21%) of Brits will be using WhatsApp video calls over the Christmas period to bring them closer to family and friends
- Three percent of parents using WhatsApp confess to pretending to message Father Christmas in order to encourage their children to behave
As Christmas parties and festive gatherings are now in full swing, WhatsApp, the world’s most popular private messaging app, reveals how Brits are using the app to help them navigate the festive season. At a time of year when there are parties are to be attended, family lunches organised, presents to be bought, and journeys home planned, many of us would find these tasks impossible without WhatsApp. According to new research commissioned by WhatsApp and conducted by YouGov online in the UK, more than four in 10 (41%) of us claim that we simply wouldn’t be able to live without WhatsApp over the festive season.
WhatsApp group chats are a key part of Christmas for many of us. Indeed, almost two thirds (65%) of British WhatsApp users say they will be talking about Christmas in their group chats this festive season. Many of us will also be piecing together the night before in our group chats, as 31% of us use WhatsApp to exchange stories after nights out.
WhatsApp also provides a vital lifeline to Brits looking for an escape from their families over Christmas, with one in 10 (10%) expecting to complain about family members via chats on the app, when it all gets a bit too much.
Naughty or nice
The study has also revealed a very modern take on parental persuasion tactics, with three per cent of UK parents using WhatsApp confessing to having pretended to message Father Christmas to encourage their children to behave.
Top topics of Christmas conversation on WhatsApp group chats include discussing the present ideas (28%), planning the Christmas lunch (24%) and arranging travel logistics (20%).
However, it isn’t just about festive chit-chat and selfie sharing: a fifth of users (21%) will be relying on WhatsApp’s video call function to share festive tidings with friends and loved ones who are elsewhere.
WhatsApp offers its users fast and secure private messaging, ideal for keeping friends and family updated with Christmas festivities in real time. So, to ensure everyone is able to connect with their loved ones no matter the time or topic, here are three helpful tips on how you can use WhatsApp to have a very happy Christmas:
1. Send a festive Voice Note
Sometimes a text message just won’t cut it when you want to share the festive love. WhatsApp’s Voice Notes feature is perfect for sharing a Christmas carol or channelling your inner Mariah Carey on Christmas Day. Voice Notes can also be a time-saving saviour when you need to send someone a shopping list or tell an anecdote from the night before, but you don’t have the time to type. Just hold down the microphone icon and swipe up, (this locks the voice note function to ‘record’), record your message and press send!
2. Show everyone that you have that festive feeling
If you just can’t contain that festive feeling and you want to let everyone know you’ve embraced Santa, why not update your status – you might be ‘at the gym’ but many of us will be ‘on the mulled wine’ in December? You can create your own, bespoke ‘About’ status to share the festive cheer with all your contacts.
To do so, go to Settings > [Tap your name] > About > Status > Edit, type your update and share with the world your current Christmas status.
3. No matter the distance, connect in an instant
Due to WhatsApp being able to operate on even the lowest of bandwidths, this Christmas use WhatsApp Video or Voice Calling to connect with loved ones, no matter where they are in the world. Whether it’s the land down under or Timbuktu, as long as there is an internet connection, you can chat in an instant on Christmas Day.
