Connecting the world through Walkie Talkie: Do you copy?
An app that works like an old-fashioned walkie talkie, the Walkie Talkie Connections app in the Android and Apple app stores, gives students the chance to connect with and talk to interesting people worldwide.
This app allows you to to connect to different frequencies, where you are then connected to people from different parts of the world.
The Walkie Talkie Connections app. (GIF: Zandile Khumalo)
The app is free to download in the Apple Store or Google Play Store and many NWU students threestreamsmedia spoke to have been making new connections in different countries, improving their knowledge of the world.
The application is uncomplicated and easy to use. You simply turn it on, select your preferred frequency and begin chatting by tapping on the large “push to talk” on the screen. You can change to different frequencies whenever you want, and you can have conversations with a maximum of three people at a time.
The application has many frequency stations and you can create a private station to which you can invite your close friends.
North-West University third-year students in BA psychology, geography, and environmental management Junior Makupula (23) and Phumelele Nkosi (24) came across the application while watching Stranger Things, a series on Netflix.
“I kid you not, Phumelele and I had a moment where we asked ourselves wouldn’t it be awesome to also have a cool way of communicating like how the kids in the movie communicate through walkie talkies. From there on we went to Google and Walkie Talkie Connections was highly recommended,” Makupula said. The pair proceeded to download the application.
Little did he know that this application would open a floodgate of knowledge from all the corners of the world. “Once I downloaded the app, I found myself conversing with people of all creeds, types, and races sharing information. It’s not as if you choose who you want to speak to and from which country. No, and that’s the fun part about it, because you discover at that moment that a stranger is from the United States or the Untitled Kingdom,” Makupula said.
“In one frequency that we joined, we engaged with a young man from Yemen who told us about his Arabic culture and their way of life. He mentioned how alcohol was forbidden in his country due to their religious beliefs,” Nkosi said. This startled her because in South Africa it is easily available when you are 18 years old.
In another conversation, a young lady from Germany entered the frequency and the two found themselves engaging with each other on different ways of life and discussing commonalities in how they spend their time.
The conversation drifted to educational systems. “I found myself questioning the German lady on what they are taught in history, thinking that their curriculum would omit the sensitive topic of Hitler. To my surprise, they do teach German history in-depth and I wouldn’t have known this had I not engaged in this conversation,” Nkosi said.