'Friend Tab' Finds Your Quiet Connection When You're Tired

Since the update in September, user reactions have been immediate. With the friend list changing to a grid format and profile pictures enlarging, some app store ratings have unusually dropped. In online communities, voices such as "the feeling of being forcibly exposed to others' daily lives" and "do I have to see news from people saved for work purposes?" have been predominant.

The core of this phenomenon lies not in the 'connection' itself but in the 'uncontrollable exposure'. Users feel psychological burdens as they are exposed to all connections at the same level, regardless of the type or intimacy of the relationship. As the messenger, once an essential communication channel, absorbs the characteristics of social media, the invisible weight of 'emotional labor' to manage all relationships has increased.

This digital fatigue transcends individual issues. In Europe, the 'right to disconnect' has already been legislated, creating a social consensus to limit work-related contact after hours. Discussions on this topic have been ongoing domestically, and some companies are voluntarily implementing campaigns to block notifications outside of working hours. This shows that healthy 'distancing' requires not only individual will but also support from social and technological environments.

Ultimately, platform companies have a responsibility to provide users with more nuanced choices to adjust the distance of their relationships. They should enhance notification settings, exposure ranges, and friend group management features to allow users to design their own digital environments.

The controversy surrounding the KakaoTalk update signals that our society craves 'healthy disconnection' and 'quiet connection' beyond efficient connections. Healthy distances ultimately create healthier relationships. It is now time to consider the depth of qualitative relationships beyond mere quantitative connections.