Many smartphone users choose text messaging applications as a primary source of communication, and more than billion of these people use WhatsApp (Marzilli & Harris 2017). While it seems that every application has the same set of functions, the appeal of WhatsApp is not incidental. The reasons why WhatsApp became widely used go beyond the functionality and the free-of-charge basis of the app, as they also include the factors of user’s location and level of intimacy.
A number of reasons can explain the growth of WhatsApp. First of all, WhatsApp is a free application that is simple to navigate, and that does not require the user to pay additional charges. To use WhatsApp, the clients need to pay only for the Internet access. This system differs significantly from the one used by the predecessor of applications – SMS. Sending an SMS text required a person to pay for every message, which limited the ability to text for many users. Now, by using WhatsApp and other messaging applications people can send an unlimited number of texts, while they have access to the Internet.
Secondly, multiple studies show that users choose WhatsApp to connect with their friends. According to O’Hara et al. (2014), many WhatsApp clients use the application to talk to the people they know on a more intimate basis. Some users explain that the tone that WhatsApp creates does not require the conversation to have a definite start or finish, keeping the dialog informal (O’Hara et al. 2014). A study by Karapanos, Teixeira, and Gouveia (2016) revealed that users prefer WhatsApp to Facebook and other messengers when they want to communicate with a distant friend on an everyday basis. After combining these two research results, it is safe to assume that WhatsApp clients use this application frequently to sustain already existing relationships, thus attracting more and more users to the application. People are more likely to have the same messenger application to talk to one another, spreading the popularity of the application through their circle of friends.
There are more factors that caused the growth of WhatsApp. However, the reasons described above seem to separate the application from the others. The users are attracted to the ability to send unlimited texts for free, but the main reason they decide to download the application lies in their wish to keep in contact with their close friends. That is why WhatsApp continues to gain new clients without having to invent new features.
Reference
Karapanos, E, Teixeira, P & Gouveia, R 2016, ‘Need fulfillment and experiences on social media: a case on Facebook and WhatsApp’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 55, pp. 888-897.
Marzilli, T & Harris, JL 2017, ‘WhatsApp challenges established competitor Skype’, Forbes, Web.
O’Hara, KP, Massimi, M, Harper, R, Rubens, S & Morris, J 2014, ‘Everyday dwelling with WhatsApp’, in Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing, ACM, New Orleans, pp. 1131-1143.