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Friday, August 11, 2017

Sarahah - why is it suddenly so popular?



My Facebook homepage is completely flooded with messages from this application as people flock to use it - its like a candy bar from childhood! Or is it?

I suddenly started thinking about why this app was suddenly so popular.

So, what basically is sarahah? 

As per this Indiatoday article, the term "sarahah" itself means honesty and the app lets you be "honest" (more on that later) ?! You get to choose an anonymous identity while posting a message to anyone (who has the app) and it supposedly leads to fun and a good amount of guessing!

Suddenly my thoughts went to childhood and a red landline phone that we had. Missed calls were fun! No caller ID, so you could not guess who it is who suddenly remembered you! You could say a lot without saying anything and it was left solely to the perception of the person hearing the missed call.

Perception meant - to each his own.
My mother probably thought - one of those irritating wrong numbers. My father probably thought - a test from the local telephone department and I... I thought - may be 'that girl' was giving me a call? (Smiles) Teenage... I tell ya!

So, after all these years and all (well, almost all) kinds of experiences, when I see people posting messages with this app and reacting strangely, I get a strange feeling. Sometimes the reactions are funny, sometimes silly, sometimes angry... well in short, I get to see almost all kinds of reactions.

But question is, does it really promote honesty? Does honesty imply, you hide your face, say something and then go into hiding again, secretly feeling elated at the reaction of your anonymous post? Sorry, is that honesty or hypocrisy?

I see, why this app can have a dizzying effect on teenagers... yes its the same feeling I had with missed calls (God knows who!), but is it honest? I do not think so! Now all of you are entitled to your own opinion and I would like to hear from you.

I did have a different idea about anonymous blogging. There used to be a platform, but it has been taken down. Anonymous blogging is not targeted at anyone. But sometimes, people just need to say aloud things to no one, not because of the need of being heard but because of the need of expressions.

We may or may not need a ear, but we cannot have our voice stifled. That is worse than death!

How is sarahah (haha!) is different from anonymous blogging?

Sarahah is designed to elicit a reaction.
It is targeted at specific people.
The expected reaction after seeing the message is the prime motivation of the one posting it.

Anonymous blogging is not designed to elicit a reaction.
It is used to vent out, free up the mind, rant.
The motivation to it is simply to be at peace with self.
Disconnection from the whole material world.
Yes it is honest, brutally so!

Anonymous blogging is honest, brutally so! Sarahah is just a passing fad! People will get over it!


Agree? Disagree? Not formed an opinion yet? Come on! Write in comments. Would love to hear from you!

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