My honest reply is that you don't know the conversations you were excluded from because of this decision.
So it's not FOMO, it's just plain MO.
Missing out on conversations from my extended family, friends (only about 1/4 use Signal and all groups are on WhatsApp), work (the Health Service in Ireland literally runs on WhatsApp), voluntary undertakings (all of which are organised on WhatsApp), organising stuff for the kids (again all on WhatsApp).
So it's a valid fear based on the reality in my social circle and country. Unilaterally moving to Signal means self-imposed isolation.
This part is terrifying: does Ireland not have the equivalent of HSR (UK, in combination with a patchwork of other legislation) or HIPAA?
What do you mean? I live in Ireland and no health professional has ever contacted me via WhatsApp.
You just get added to the relevant groups by your manager (obviously there's also unofficial social groups) and that's where you'll get 90%+ of rosters, clinical updates, service bulletins, etc.
Maybe some won't be, but the path of idealism isn't always the most convenient.
"Sorry kids, you aren't going to your friends parties or playing sports with them because my ideals conflict with your reality" is not a tenable position.
"your mileage may vary"
and bob's your aunty
Yeah, definitely. I'm just responsible for myself. The day I have to be responsible for others, I'll just immigrate to a country where everybody uses Telegram haha.
Telegram is a much better option that does not sell your user data and still has the best privacy options. Where most people like to disagree is the security part, but E2EE is not as important to me as long as my privacy is respected.
Signal is horrible to use and inconvenient for most people but with e2ee.
Even after making the effort to keep up with the ones that only wanted to use WhatsApps, through email or regular text message, they couldn't be bothered. I guess I have moved into the point in my life where I prefer the quality of friends who wanted me around for more than being an extra body to fill out their party guest list (and similar).