At this point the game has changed with social apps; I’m including messaging as “social.” It is easier than ever to rebuild the important parts of your social graph on Signal, Clubhouse, Snap, IG, whatever platform you need. I talk to the same friends via Twitter DM, WhatsApp, IG, signal, hangouts and iMessage. Open access to contact books and APIs have made this so easy. I can leave WhatsApp and my network will find me elsewhere.
I don't think this is true. Sure, you can maybe get your close friends or close family to switch. But I don't think my landlord or my distant relatives will install Signal just because I don't want to use WhatsApp anymore.
SMS/MMS don't work or are unreliable for international communication. SMS/MMS, historically, have been unreliable cross-carrier domestically in the US. Many cheaper Android phones, especially, seemed to be particularly poor players with SMS/MMS group chats. SMS/MMS doesn't guarantee message delivery order (which can lead to some comical exchanges when the first split of the message shows up a day after the last split, but also obnoxious). MMS, depending on phone, isn't particularly useful for a lot of multimedia or mixed content messages (not just text or simple and small images).
WhatsApp is free on carriers in many countries (including large portions of Asia and South America), contrasting with other messaging platforms which use a standard data plan. It delivers messages reliably, group messages just work, and it works properly for mixed content messages. And data is (relatively) cheap in most countries where WhatsApp isn't free.
That doesn't apply to me or anyone I know. I know a handful on signal and telegram but the vast majority are on WhatsApp with a smaller number on messenger.
People can contact me on signal but I mostly use WhatsApp for group chats and I'm not so important that everyone will install a newaapp just to include me in a group chat.
I used to have the same thinking, lurked on Signal for a while, then suddenly all my contacts started to show up.
Even my 14 year old got all her friends on Signal (without my direct influence) because they are very aware of instagram/FB addiction and want to stay away from it.
Signal now supports group chats as well, thought it looks like all participants have to be using Signal otherwise it uses regular MMS and the "group" dynamic breaks down.
I know that it supports group chats, but the whole group would have to switch to it. That might happen with one such group in the next few days as we've had a long discussion. 1 member of the 15 in the group has now installed signal. 2 of us were already on signal.
That still leaves 12 more to switch but it could happen.
