This isn't limited to ERs. I have a close friend that works as a nurse at Stanford (not in the ER) and the treatment they have to endure there is insane. Patients have punched her, spit on her, asked her for sexual favors, massages, and the list goes on. Worse, Stanford wants their nurses to treat patients like hotel guests which makes matters worse. The staff has no recourse when patients act this way. Seeing all of the sexual harassment backlash in Silicon Valley makes me wonder why it hasn't applied to places like hospitals - it's as if this treatment is expected and hospitals are immune because they're seen as a last resort for sick people. Where else do you send them?
I'm aware that WhatsApp was a status app (like AOL status messages) and they stumbled into their way into cannibalizing SMS, basically.