Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat

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From WhatsApp leaks to group chat nightmares, how instant messaging changed the world.

From WhatsApp leaks to school group chat nightmares, via war propaganda on Telegram and Slack meltdowns at work, how instant messaging took over our lives.

Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat. Have you ever been trapped in a group chat nightmare, either grabbing the popcorn or wondering how to leave without causing a scene? Who's the admin in your family group, and do they wield that power responsibly? Do you ever wonder if it's appropriate to use emojis when talking to your boss? The rise of instant messaging has made our social and professional lives faster, more casual — and more chaotic. But amid all the discussion of the effects of public social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, there has been relatively little attention paid to private social networks—the direct message and the group chat — and how they are shaping our relationships and our world. In this series, Helen Lewis looks at the secret world of instant messaging, meeting a woman who married a chatbot, discovering how Russian dissidents are fighting a propaganda war, and hearing the inside story of how Britain ended up governed from a single WhatsApp group. It's a strange new world where workplace rebellions are conducted through duelling emojis and military secrets are traded on chat forums about a children's cartoon. It's also a world where you can never be quite sure who you're talking to—and who's eavesdropping on you.

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Influenced: Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat: Left the Chat: No 1. Whatsapp Mishaps

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Left the Chat: No 1. Whatsapp Mishaps

BBC Radio 4 - Influenced, Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat, Left the Chat: No 1. Whatsapp Mishaps

In 1998, Helen joined a vast social experiment - one that you are probably part of too.

Instant messaging can lead to chaos, confusion - and comedy. Here are three stories from the frontline of the strange world inside our phones.

In 1998, Helen’s family got their first home computer - and she logged on to chat with existing friends and strangers she met online. Since then, instant messaging has taken over our lives, with an estimated 2.7 billion users on WhatsApp alone. 

But what is happening in the secrecy of our direct message inboxes and neighbourhood group chats? Three stories of chaos, confusion - and comedy - highlight just how strange it can feel to make sense of the fast paced, casual world of instant messaging.

Producer: Tom Pooley
Assistant Producer: Orla O'Brien
Sound Design: Louis Blatherwick 
Editor: Craig Templeton Smith 
Original music: Coach Conrad

A Tempo & Talker production for BBC Radio 4

Influenced: Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat

BBC Radio 4

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Have you ever been trapped in a group chat nightmare, either grabbing the popcorn or wondering how to leave without causing a scene? Who's the admin in your family group, and do they wield that power responsibly? Do you ever wonder if it's appropriate to use emojis when talking to your boss? 

The rise of instant messaging has made our social and professional lives faster, more casual — and more chaotic. But amid all the discussion of the effects of public social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, there has been relatively little attention paid to private social networks—the direct message and the group chat — and how they are shaping our relationships and our world. 

In this series, Helen Lewis looks at the secret world of instant messaging, meeting a woman who married a chatbot, discovering how Russian dissidents are fighting a propaganda war, and hearing the inside story of how Britain ended up governed from a single WhatsApp group. It's a strange new world where workplace rebellions are conducted through duelling emojis and military secrets are traded on chat forums about a children's cartoon. It's also a world where you can never be quite sure who you're talking to—and who's eavesdropping on you.

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