Starting college is a culture shock for everyone. Many of us have to suddenly adjust to a new city, weather, living situation, diet, schedule, workload; it seems that everything is changing. As for me, I quickly realized that leaving home meant leaving behind something central to my way of life: WhatsApp group chats.

As someone who has used WhatsApp for every friend group, party, and summer program, I’ve felt horrified—nauseated even—every time someone claimed to dislike the app or to have not even heard of it. Instead, everyone here relies on something called “GroupMe.”

But this is Washington University; maybe everyone is onto something. So, I decided to pit the two apps against one another, taking into consideration brilliant and insignificant features alike to see once and for all which is the better messenger.

Graphic by Anjali Vishwanath