WhatsApp updates its privacy policy 1:01
Editor's note:
Kara Alaimo, associate professor at Hofstra University's Lawrence Herbert School of Communication, writes about issues affecting women and social media.
She was a spokesperson for International Affairs at the Treasury Department during the Obama administration.
The opinions presented in this article belong solely to the author.
(CNN) --
WhatsApp on Tuesday announced new privacy features that will allow users to leave group chats without sending notifications to all members, and control who sees when they're active in the app.
These features are a reminder to all of us that we need to be more thoughtful about the ways we are letting technology control our lives.
Ami Vora, the company's vice president of product and design, said the changes were part of WhatsApp's commitment to "building product features that allow people to have more control and privacy over their messages."
The 3 new privacy features coming to WhatsApp
That's important because many of us have been conditioned to give, and expect, instant responses when people message us at work or on social apps, whether it's a potential love interest, a boss on Slack, or a friend on WhatsApp.
The fact that other users can see when we're online, and if we've read their messages, in these apps certainly doesn't help.
When you know your boss knows you've seen his request, it's pretty hard to leave it there and focus on something else, even if doing so would be healthier or more productive.
But if we want to really get the job done and do it well, we often need to completely disconnect from these apps.
In a 2014 study, researchers at George Mason University found that dealing with interruptions not only makes a task take longer to complete, but also causes people to turn in lower-quality work.
Students who were interrupted while writing their essays ended up scoring significantly lower than those who had no interruptions.
This makes sense, since in order to plan and execute complex tasks, we often need to focus and maintain a consistent train of thought.
So, whether they realize it or not, we often perform better if we don't continually stop and respond instantly to our peers.
And outside of work, there's more to life than texting people non-stop.
How are we supposed to safely savor a meal or take care of our children if we are responding to a constant stream of messages from our co-workers, friends and family?
The simple answer is that we can't.
Another 2014 study found that as the quality of mobile phone networks improved, allowing the use of smartphones in different parts of the country, visits by young children to emergency rooms increased in those areas.
It's not hard to imagine that this could be because their keepers were busy texting instead of keeping an eye on them in the yard.
Yet many of the products designed by tech companies, while increasing our anxiety and lowering our productivity and general well-being, have the effect of keeping us tethered to our computers and phones.
WhatsApp will stop showing everyone that you are online (and you can choose who to hide it from)
When you see a senior manager texting you on Slack, or the thought bubbles on your phone alerting you that a love interest is texting, of course you're glued to the screen waiting for their message.
And with many people working from home, responding instantly, around the clock, has become a way some people try to show their colleagues that they're working hard.
What can be even worse in our culture, where instant replies have become the norm, is knowing that someone has seen a message and isn't responding to you.
It can feel like you're being deliberately ignored, even if the person is just busy with something else.
So the option to disable some of these creepy tools that let people know when you're online and have received their messages, or if you're participating in a group chat, is a welcome development.
But it's up to all of us to actually use them.
We have to inform ourselves about the privacy options that we have at our disposal in the different social networks and spend time activating them.
And ultimately, we have to think about whether we really want to relinquish control of our time to technology and to other people.
We should consider prioritizing the things we want to do, instead of prioritizing the messages that appear at the top of our apps.
If we all start taking advantage of these tools and changing the way we react to incoming messages, we may end up changing our culture of endless messaging.
Then one day our bosses might be glad they don't get instant answers from us.