How to Stay Connected When Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp Shutdown.

On October 4, 2021, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram were suddenly shut down. The three apps owned by Facebook, an American company offering online social networking services, stopped working shortly before 5.00 p.m. Nigerian time.

Other products related to the apps, such as Messenger and Workplace, were also observed to have stopped working. Users of Facebook and Instagram applications could not view posts on refresh, while WhatsApp messages could not be sent or received.

It is highly important to note that our modern society depends on these online services for communication, whenever there is a shutdown in any of these services there is a loss of communication. This loss of communication is extremely isolating, and potentially very dangerous.

Also, it would be unwise to put all eggs in one basket since Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram is owned by the same person.

In order to avert the dangers that come with the loss of communication, here are 4 ways to stay connected to the internet whenever any of these social platforms are down.

1. Use Twitter

Twitter is an American microblogging and social networking platform on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Registered users can post, like, and retweet tweets.  With Twitter, you can catch up with  viral stories and videos and  stay on top of what everyone’s talking about

2 Try Telegram for Instant Messaging

Telegram is a cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging system. The service also provides end-to-end encrypted video calling,  VoIP, file sharing, and several other features.

Just like WhatsApp, you can do instant messaging with Twitter, you don’t have to lose communication with your loved ones just because of a partial Internet shutdown

3. Have Fun With Tiktok

Tiktok is a video-sharing-focused social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts a variety of short-form user videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education, with durations from 15 seconds to three minutes.  With TikTok, you can discover several trends from around the world and can even create your own with easy-to-use tools.

4.  Refine Your Career With LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. The platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development; allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs. It is a great way to stay up to date with the latest developments that are going on in the professional world.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has announced that it would discontinue support for some Android and iPhone devices. This means, from November, WhatsApp will no longer work on over 50 phone models. Check to see if your phone is among the affected devices.