Technology

I don't think anyone answers the phone now, unless they recognize the number.

Most of the calls I get are

• spam
• spam
• someone sent me a time sensitive message, so they ring me once to respond faster
• spam

Spam has destroyed the phonecall. I screen everything and people know to text me first.

Besides its rude to think you can just interrupt someone in the middle of what they are doing without asking via text first anyway.

"A voice note is just like talking on the phone but better," says Susie Jones, a 19-year-old student. "You get the benefits of hearing your friend's voice but comes with no pressures so it's a more polite way of communicating".

Gross, voice notes are the worst of both worlds.

Text for things that are information critical, phone calls for things that are time critical.

Email for business (and keep the original chain going instead of starting a new one every time you think of something else to add!), text messages for associates, chat apps for friends and family.

Anyone who disagrees is wrong.

A recent survey found a quarter of people aged 18 to 34 never answer the phone - respondents say they ignore the ringing, respond via text or search the number online if they don't recognise it.

As they should.

I can't speak for others but as an older millennial, I grew up liking spending time on the phone with friends and loved ones. However in my adult life, I spent being anxious waiting for phone calls regarding job interviews and outcomes of them, and even being interviewed on some of them, including those without much notice. I also had to make calls to follow up things urgently or if I'm in trouble. As a result, I started to equate phone calls as mostly negative experiences.

99% of phone calls is typically a capitalistic company forcing employees to sell us something.

So yes... I'm not gonna pick up. Leave a voicemail 👍

Meanwhile, boomers will spend hours talking to a ChatGPT script that has convinced them its the real Oprah Winfrey.

It's pretty obvious why lol.

90% of the calls I receive are spam.

Calling demands that I pick up the phone RIGHT THE FUCK NOW. Bitch, if it ain't a life threatening emergency I'm not dropping everything I'm working on for you.

Texting allows me to respond when it's convenient for me.

Text generally takes 3 seconds to get the point across instead of having a whole conversation about it

honestly i think this is due to unplanned voice calls essentially being broken technology now.

imagine we had 2020s email spammers while mail servers had 1990s spam filters, that's basically where we're at now with unplanned voice.

Texting is also damn convenient, I can deal with several conversations at once without having to pause the movie I'm watching.

Speaking on the phone doesn't just tie your line, it ties your whole life too.

I'm an older millennial. I enjoyed talking on the phone until I was something like 12. Texting wasn't a big thing yet then, but messengers on the internet were. So I realized there were better ways of communicating.

When I was in college, I was hit by a car. I was poor and had no health insurance. That led to endless calls from debt collectors. That led to anxiety related to the sound of a phone ringing. I have not answered the phone to unknown numbers since then. My life is better for it.

I only occasionally listen to voicemail, and most of the time, it's a doctor's appointment automated reminder. The rest of the time, it's usually spam. No point listening.

Anyone who knows me and needs or wants to get in touch with me knows how to do so and knows not to do so by phone call. Anyone else is unimportant.

I literally don't set up my voicemail, and I typically don't listen to recorded audio that gets messaged to me. Texting is functional and doesn't leave me some anxiety-provoking message that I have to sit through and digest without saying anything. If a conversation needs to happen in voice, text to say that and see if it's a good time.

Wild that people just ring a personal phone number unprompted in 2024 without that being an established routine.

That said, I also remember when it wasn't at all weird to show up to someone's house and knock on their door. Things have really changed.

Eh. Gen-x here. I still have an hour long phonecall over signal with my best friend over signal two times a week or so.

In my teens I wasn't too happy about making phonecalls either, but working on a helpdesk for a while sure cured that.

On the other hand, I live in a country with consumer protection, so robocalls are not a thing. And I'd strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger (and GDPR) those companies who attempt to poison and destroy my personal attention.

I always answer the phone.

Because if you're not in my contacts my phone doesn't even ring.

I mean, maybe a hot take, maybe not … casual/social voice conversations at a distance were never a good idea in the first place.

Not absolutely at least. A disconnected voice that can summon your attention at any time wherever you are is a weird, uncomfortable, unpleasant and maybe unhealthy thing.

Textual communication at a distance odd much more natural, as it matches the disconnected communication with a more formal and abstract medium.

I get called like once or twice a week, and it's usually something time sensitive or important. Always found people just flat out refusing to answer the phone crazy.

I don't really get the whole not answering the phone thing. I hate phonecalls but I always answer my phone.

The amount of important calls I'd have missed if I buried my head in the sand like that is insane.

Sure if 90% of the calls were sales or scams I'd think differently, but there are ways to prevent that too.

I find it weird that everyone has their phone on silent all the time too. If mine was on silent I'd never look at it unless I'm bored.

I don’t mind a ‘phone call’ so long as it isn’t actually using a phone number where ISPs can spy, but using some encrypted service.