Cheaters usually get caught and the mobile messaging service WhatsApp can help or hurt those dirty little cheaters. WhatsApp has taken a scandalous turn to aiding in infidelity, particularly in Italy. A new report was released Monday by the Italian Association of Matrimonial Lawyers citing that 40% of divorce cases in Italy have used WhatsApp as evidence of infidelity. You’d think these people would just delete the messages right away or use Snapchat instead. (Which is probably a better way to message a mistress or mister since the messages disappear immediately after you open them. Just sayin’.) WhatsApp helping push up divorce rates shows how mobile can influence our communication and relationships.
The appeal of WhatsApp is it uses 3G or WiFi instead of SMS texting. So, if you’re into being sneaky and slutty with someone besides your significant other, the phone number you’re messaging won’t show up on the monthly phone bill. As Gian Ettore Gassani, president of the association explained to The Times, “Lovers can now exchange risqué photos of themselves, and we have seen adulterers using the service to maintain three or four relationships – it’s like dynamite.” Seriously, why are these people even married?
WhatsApp’s recently updated features tells users when their message has been sent, received and read with a timestamp. Which is great if you’re obsessed with knowing when someone has read your message. It’s also great for having it be used as evidence against you in a court case. “My message to adulterers is, ‘Be prudent’, since if it makes betrayal easier WhatsApp also makes it easier to be caught,” Gassani told The Times. “Spouses often become suspicious when they hear the beep of an incoming message.” That is quite the paradox advising cheaters to be prudes.