The role of the Internet in people’s lives is constantly growing. More smartphone users choose to use messaging applications, and Whatsapp currently is one of the most popular instant messengers in the world (Marzilli & Harris 2017). The popularity of WhatsApp lies in its defining characteristics, such as it being free and available on multiple platforms or having no ads and no option of email registration.
The most popular feature of WhatsApp is the ability to text or call without having to pay additional charges. Application users pay only for the Internet access on their phones (Marzilli & Harris 2017). This feature helps to lower the expenses significantly while sending more messages. Secondly, while being free, WhatsApp has no advertisements, which creates a comfortable environment for users (Sutikno et al. 2016). WhatsApp is also available on multiple platforms, namely on Android, Windows, Blackberry, and iOS (Sutikno et al. 2016).The next feature that sets WhatsApp apart is the inability to use an email for registration. WhatsApp users have to provide their phone number when creating an account (Sutikno et al. 2016). Using a phone number opens the possibility to synchronize the application with the user’s contact list, providing a fast way to connect WhatsApp clients with each other. According to Montag et al. (2015), WhatsApp users are more likely to be younger than average texting users, who were introduced to Internet conversations though the means of email. WhatsApp, however, was created for a phone, not a computer, and was intended as an alternative to text messaging, which allowed it to relate to younger users (Sutikno et al. 2016).
All in all, WhatsApp attracted a wide audience by being a free application with no unnecessary features and the ability to easily connect users, who already know each other.
Reference
Marzilli, T & Harris, JL 2017, ‘WhatsApp challenges established competitor Skype’, Forbes, Web.
Montag, C, Błaszkiewicz, K, Sariyska, R, Lachmann, B, Andone, I, Trendafilov, B, Eibes, M & Markowetz, A 2015, ‘Smartphone usage in the 21st century: who is active on WhatsApp?’, BMC Research Notes, vol. 8, no. 1, 2017, Web.
Sutikno, T, Handayani, L, Stiawan, D, Riyadi, MA & Subroto, IMI 2016, ‘WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram which is best for instant messaging?’, International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, vol. 6, no. 3, p. 909.