First off, what exactly is WhatsApp? WhatsApp is a social media network that allows users to instant message anyone in the world who uses the app. They can send messages, pictures, GIFs, videos, audio, ect. Although this social network is not so popular in the U.S., its popularity has soared in South Africa. It has become the most used mean of communication in the area.
An article from Forbes written by Toby Shapshak states that this app is often the first (sometimes second) app that users in South Africa download once they get a smartphone. WhatsApp is so successful in South Africa, that Facebook messenger couldn’t compete. The company ended up buying WhatsApp for twenty-two billion dollars and the app now has over 900 million active users worldwide.
“WhatsApp has already achieved ubiquitous status in South Africa as the instant messenger of choice, beating Blackberry Messenger and WeChat in terms of popularity.” said an ICT industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan.
One reason the app has gained this popularity in South Africa is because of its calling feature. The app allows users to call each other using their data rather than their “voice minutes”. Users can save the minutes they get from their phone companies and use their data instead for their calls which is generally cheaper and even has the option to be unlimited. (with a price) It has basically all together replaced simply texting because of the ability to send messages, as well as pictures, videos, and audio. Just like SMS.
Another article posted on MyBroadBand.Com written by Jan Vermeulen, also discusses the rise in popularity of WhatsApp in South Africa. Vermeulen makes the point that even without the network releasing its official user numbers for South Africa, it remains clear that it is the most successful network in that area. She mentions an older app called “Mxit” which attempted to offer the same this that WhatsApp currently offers. The issue was that in order to stay running, they were charging customers per-message, which didn’t go over to well with users who quickly dropped the app. Users were also only able to send messages when both users were online at the same time. They now much prefer how WhatsApp strictly uses data only and you can send messages whenever and just wait for a response when the receiver sees it. BBM, A Blackberry messaging app simply failed because you had to have one specific phone to use it which was understandably not available to everyone. WhatsApp is available on a wide variety of mobile phones.
SMS being so limited and expensive in South Africa is what ultimately led to the rise of WhatsApp, along with its ability to completely replace SMS services and even provide more. Vaermeulen ends her discussion on this networks popularity by stating that,
“All this considered, it’s easy to see why we love WhatsApp so much. It is simply better than anything mobile networks have to offer.”
