Beyond the bluetick: rethinking workplace communication on Whatsapp

Instant messaging applications have reshaped how colleagues communicate, coordinate, and collaborate. WhatsApp groups, in particular, have become routine in many Malaysian universities, handling announcements, logistics, and occasional solidarity. Specific WhatsApp groups for the departments, faculties, course teams, and administrative units now carry much of the campus's day-to-day pulse. As a senior lecturer in English language proficiency at the foundation and degree levels, as well as in contentand research-based language and communication at the postgraduate level, my views on this are ambivalent. The convenience of WhatsApp groups is indisputable, but at the same time, we should be concerned that they have eroded the standards of professional discourse among academics.