second time brewing ever. this batch is a whitbeir with very little airlock activity just wondering if this is normal for this type of beer
It's maybe normal for a lighter style beer, depending on the yeast strain, temperature of fermentation, fermenting vessel, etc.
Bubbling is not generally a reliable indicator of fermention activity, especially in a fermentor that is prone to leaking around the lid. Carboys, and some other vessels are better at it, but really, it's best to measure the gravity to know for sure what's going on.
Get a hydrometer and a thief, and pull a sample and check it.
In general, lighter beers will ferment at a slower rate, and finish faster than big beers, because their sugars are less and further apart. Big beers can go nuts and ferment for several weeks do to the much larger amount of sugar.
Of course, temperature can affect this as well, since yeast likes it a bit warmer than you should really ferment at and will ferment faster at those temps. Also the amount of yeast will affect how fast the ferment goes since 800 billion yeast cells will ferment a batch faster than 400 billion cells will.
One reason to use plenty of yeast, especially on big beers.