The day the chatter finally stopped

As time went on, that list of friends, contacts or call them what you will got longer and longer. One reason is that giving WeChat contact details has replaced giving out business cards.

It has become de rigueur when meeting anyone to casually say something like "You must add me to your WeChat."

The day an acquaintance posted more than 40 messages at once on topics such as health, emotional problems, culture, religion, political jokes and social issues was the day that something really twigged with me. "What on earth is this all about?" I asked myself. "Who the hell has the time to read all this guff?" I looked at two items and ignored the rest.

On another occasion a young mother went into minute, mind-numbing detail about how her boy was getting on, including descriptions not only of what was going into his mouth, but what was coming out the other end, too. It is fair enough that someone wants to share with others the joys of parenthood, but does all this need to be broadcast to the world, including a daily bulletin on bowel movements? So I decided to block her.

At the other extreme to this personal stuff is people hawking insurance and investment plans. Then there is the blurred mixture of promotions for friends and for their businesses, for example their children taking part in online beauty contests, and their success hinging on collecting as many thumb-ups as possible.

One of the most offensive messages is a chain-letter type incantation that warns that unless you pass it on you are doomed to bad luck, which in me invites an instant press of the block button.

WeChat is also the place par excellence to let your boss know what a hard little worker you are. Someone I know once posted a message to the effect that he had finally finished his day's work - at 2 am. Not long after sunrise, as if on cue, the thumbs-ups and comments began to flash up, including one from the boss, saying "Great, you work so hard."

A friend of mine commented that all of this back-patting and flattery made her feel nothing except disgust.