This wasn't always the case. During senior year in high school, for example, I talked on the phone a lot. I knew numbers by heart. I called people, people called me. Nowadays, I avoid it when possible. Before making a call, I usually get kind of nervous/ uncomfortable. It's silly & senseless, but it just is. I just don't like it. It makes me feel WEIRD & AWKWARD.
Again, I'm speaking in general terms. When on the other end is someone I feel reeeaaallly comfortable with, it's possible that I don't feel any of this & that calls are ok. Sometimes I'll see someone's name on the ID screen of my cel, get all excited & answer like OMGGG HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. Only sometimes, though.
I always thought this made me a little weird. Then I came across this quote
“Don’t use the phone. People are never ready to answer it” - Jack Kerouac
& thought OMG TOTALLY.
Then today on my Facebook Newsfeed, I saw that Courtney had posted the link to an NYTimes article: Don't call me, I won't call you. & WOW HEY I GUESS I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!
"Phone calls are rude. Intrusive. Awkward. “Thank you for noticing something that millions of people have failed to notice since the invention of the telephone until just now,” Judith Martin, AKA Miss Manners, said by way of opening our phone conversation. “I’ve been hammering away at this for decades. The telephone has a very rude propensity to interrupt people.” Though the beast has been somewhat tamed by voice mail and caller ID, the phone caller still insists, Ms. Martin explained, “that we should drop whatever we’re doing and listen to me. ”
EXACTLY. That's EXACTLY why I don't like calling people...& I avoid it unless it's something that can't wait &/or they aren't answering my texts &/or they don't have credit. &/or unless they are such good friends that I'm pretty sure I won't be an annoyance & if I am, it will be ok : P
I was a little surprised to read the author state that "teenagers gave up the phone call eons ago". Maybe it depends on the person? Bc I know TONS of kids who still talk on the phone A LOT, I can think of people who call as opposed to text & who tend to phone without what the article refers to as a "warning".
One of the people interviewed says "I just can’t think of anyone else who’d want to talk to me [apart from his mom]. Then again, he doesn’t want to be called, either. “I’ve learned not to press ‘ignore’ on my cellphone because then people know that you’re there”.
- "Whereas people once received and made calls with friends on a regular basis, we now coordinate such events via e-mail or text".
- "Receiving calls on the cellphone can be a particular annoyance. First, there’s the assumption that you’re carrying the thing at all times. For those in homes with stairs, the cellphone siren can send a person scrambling up and down flights of steps in desperate pursuit".
- "But heaven forbid you actually have to listen — especially to voice mail. The standard “let the audience know this person is a loser” scene in movies where the forlorn heroine returns from a night of cat-sitting to an answering machine that bleats “you have no messages” would cause confusion with contemporary viewers. Who doesn’t heave a huge sigh of relief to find there’s no voice mail? Is it worth punching in a protracted series of codes and passwords to listen to some three-hour-old voice say, “call me” when you could glance at caller ID and return the call — or better yet, e-mail back instead?"
TOTALLY.
So...pls text or email me instead : )
- "Don't call home", The Breeders
- "Call me", Blondie
- "Hanging on the telephone", Blondie
- "Ring, ring, ring", De La Soul
- "Hello it's me", Todd Rundgren
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