278
Why is it so hard to get friends to leave Discord, WhatsApp, Instagram, and others? Anyone else feel this? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
171 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I’ve been seeing this more and more in comments, and it’s got me wondering just how big this issue really is. A lot of people feel trapped in apps like Discord, WhatsApp, and Instagram, but can’t get their friends to leave.

It’s really annoying when you suggest trying something new, whether it’s a different app or just not using these platforms so much but sometimes it can feel like no one wants to go first.

So I’m curious, what apps do you feel most trapped in? And have you tried convincing your friends to leave them? What happened? Is it an issue for you, or are you just going along with the flow?

Looking forward to hearing if this is as common as it feels!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 67 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Asking people to leave things means they're losing a line of communication to friends, family, and interest groups who still use those things. It's probably more productive to ask people to add the services you prefer rather than leave the ones they're used to.

I've encountered some resistance from Americans who use iPhones and hate the idea of adding a third-party messaging app. None of them seem very interested in justifying that position.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 11 child comments
    •
  • [–] 32 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    Companies like Apple spent a lot to create a switching cost in almost every product. The "bubble" color is also a HUGE thing in the US, and is often times the sole reason for not wanting to leave iMessage.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Certainly, but installing additional messaging apps on a phone has almost no cost on either iPhone or Android. It's interesting that iPhone users seem to dislike the idea more.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    The having to do something is the cost, because they have a perfectly good messaging app already, "why can't you just use that?"

    And that cost is more on Apple's platform because Apple has been designing it that way since the beginning. It's the whole reason android users got a different color bubble, not because they had to, but it was a way to identify the person that wasn't using an iPhone and make them stand out. Making it almost unimaginable to switch to Android for youth who care so much about not being "out" of the group.

    And Google has identified this, and put a lot of cringe-worthy effort into addressing it at their Pixel event this time around.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    they have a perfectly good messaging app already, “why can’t you just use that?”

    Only running on one brand of phone would be the obvious reason here. Installing an additional app seems like a slightly smaller ask than buying a different phone.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    As someone whose only apple devices are ipads, the big lockin isn't imessage vs an SMS client. It's FaceTime vs, Zoom/GMeet/Jitsi. Mind you, it is nice being able to use iMessage with my wife when I have internet, and then swap over to SMS quickly. Sure, my two devices don't have a persistent conversation, but her device does.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (5 children)

    FaceTime vs, Zoom/GMeet/Jitsi

    Is the advantage availability among your contacts, or something about the UX?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Holistically it's UX.

    If my wife or others in my life who use Apple want to contact me, they don't have to go into a specific app and hope that I'm looking at it. They can go into iMessage, click the camera, and poof, a video call starts up. The only software I use that does that otherwise is Discord, and that's not integrated with SMS/MMS. It's the connection too (which is just as much part of UX) - I've had problems with Zoom or others due to connection strength, but not with FaceTime.

    The fact that it's a "just-works" solution is important.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    they don’t have to go into a specific app and hope that I’m looking at it

    Do the others not ring your phone? I don't video call often, but when I do it's usually with Signal, and that definitely rings my phone.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Literally all of that UX is the same and better in other apps though.

    For example, every single part of your description applies to video and text conversations with my SO and friends, except we all use Signal. It "just works", and better than Facetime because it doesn't matter what device my SO and friends have.

    With Facetime it doesn't "just work" at all with the large number of people I know who don't have Apple. That's a huge disadvantage which means that Facetime UX sucks.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent