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Objective This qualitative study analyzes communication practices, roles, and rules developed by family members while participating in a three‐generation WhatsApp family group (WFG). Background Although instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp have become increasingly popular with families worldwide, study findings of the digital family formation process, roles, rules, and family communication styles have remained fragmented. Combining the rich familism ideology with technological skills makes the Israel digital family a good study case. Method We conducted 43 semistructured interviews with WFG participants representing three generations of Jewish Israeli families. Results All WFGs were organized in the form of a three‐generation family tree, including one or a couple of older people in the core and a significant number of their younger relatives in the upper tree levels, where WFG membership was used as a marker of family belonging. WFG members played roles of kinkeepers, flickerers (rarely commenting participants), and silent warm experts. WFGs used two rules for communication—problematic discourse avoidance and exaggerated writing style—and two strategies for enforcing those rules—temporarily excluding rule breakers from the general group or ignoring messages of offending participant(s). Conclusion Maintaining the WFG is not a single initiative but a collective, well‐coordinated endeavor of all family generations, which helps to include grandparents in the digital family, gives WFG participants a sense of family belonging, and reproduces the image of the untroubled family. Implications The research findings can be helpful for educators, family therapists, social workers, and social policy professionals. Moreover, the study's results can benefit families who want to open WhatsApp family groups.

Instant messaging applications, including WhatsApp, Viber, and WeChat, are moving beyond text messages to videos and voice calls, which are proportioned to current media, files, and locations. In this study, we surveyed existing forensic visualization and forensic analysis techniques for instant messaging applications, with the aim of contributing to the knowledge in the discussion of these research issues. A total of 61 publications were reviewed after searching various academic databases, including the IEEE, ACM Digital Library, Google Scholar, and Science Direct during the last five years. Our observation from research trends indicates that both forensic analysis and information visualization are relatively mature research areas. However, there is a growing interest in forensic visualization and automated IM forensic analysis. We also identified the lack of discussion on forensic selection criteria in existing forensic visualization works and the needs of benchmarking the evaluation method of automate forensic analysis tools.

Mobile instant messaging (IM) apps (eg, WhatsApp and WeChat) have been widely used by the general population and are more interactive than text-based programs (SMS text messaging) to modify unhealthy lifestyles. Little is known about IM app use for health promotion, including alcohol reduction for university students. This study aims to explore university student drinkers' perceptions of using IM apps for alcohol reduction as they had high alcohol exposure (eg, drinking invitations from peers and alcohol promotion on campus) and the proportion of IM app use in Hong Kong. A qualitative study was conducted with 20 Hong Kong Chinese university students (current drinkers) with Alcohol Use Disorder Identification test scores of ≥8 recruited using purposive sampling. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted from September to October 2019. Interview questions focused on drinking behaviors, quitting history, opinions toward IM app use as an intervention tool, perceived usefulness of IM apps for alcohol reduction, and opinions on the content and design of IM apps for alcohol reduction. Each interview lasted approximately 1 hour. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers independently analyzed the transcripts using thematic analysis with an additional investigator to verify the consistency of the coding. Participants considered IM apps a feasible and acceptable platform for alcohol reduction intervention. They preferred to receive IMs based on personalized problem-solving and drinking consequences with credible sources. Other perceived important components of instant messages included providing psychosocial support in time and setting goals with participants to reduce drinking. They further provided suggestions on the designs of IM interventions, in which they preferred simple and concise messages, chat styles based on participants' preferences (eg, adding personalized emojis and stickers in the chat), and peers as counselors. Qualitative interviews with Chinese university student drinkers showed high acceptability, engagement, and perceived utility of IM apps for alcohol reduction intervention. IM intervention can be an alternative for alcohol reduction intervention apart from traditional text-based programs. The study has implications for developing the IM intervention for other unhealthy behaviors and highlights important topics that warrant future research, including substance use and physical inactivity. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04025151; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04025151?term=NCT04025151.

Purpose The use of mobile messaging (MM) or mobile instant messaging has grown in the past few years at astonishing rates. Design/methodology/approach This growth has prompted data gatherers and trend forecasters to look at the use of MM apps in different ways than in the past. Findings In a 2015 survey, The Pew Research Center asked about the use of MM apps separately from cell phone texting for the first time (Duggan, 2015). Originality/value Digital marketing site eMarketer.com published their first ever worldwide forecast for MM in 2015. This forecast report shows 1.4 billion current users of MM apps or 5 per cent of smartphone users accessing an MM app at least once a month. This is a 31.6 per cent increase from the previous year. The forecast predicts that by 2018, there will be two billion users, representing 80 per cent of smartphone users (eMarketer.com, 2015).