New Delhi, Aug. 7 -- There are two kinds of people in the world: those who have blue ticks on WhatsApp and those who've chosen the dark side. This piece is about the latter- a growing tribe. Let me begin by clarifying: I'm not talking about unread messages.

I'm talking about read messages. Ones that have been consumed by someone's cornea, cognitively processed and perhaps chuckled at, but for which there is no outward evidence. Nada. No blue ticks.

For the uninitiated (if any exist), blue ticks on WhatsApp are not just a social signal, but part of modern online messaging etiquette. Sent a message? Two grey ticks mean it was delivered. Two blue ticks mean it was read. No blue ticks can spell existential angst.

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