Do you, like me, hate using phone? Why?

At home: I can't manipulate a chair close enough to the phone (and refuse to get a mobile), so ten minutes is my preferred max length. Also, it can sound brutish to say "Keep it brief, I have a Dreyer film and a ballgame to watch. Come drink with me if you wanna yap for an hour."

But I'm not really fond of using the phone to make appointments or deal with businesses and things like that. I always have to mentally rehearse the call before I make it.

And in the pre-cellphone age, I used to hate calling someone who lived with a roommate, because I never knew who'd answer and I felt enormous pressure to figure out who it was right away, so I wouldn't embarrass myself. Plus, there's the obligation of making small talk with the roommate so you don't seem brusque. Cells are much better.

A couple of months ago I got a phone call from a famous Cdn composer, b/c I had attended a talk of his and signed up for an event he was putting on. I had expected to be contacted by email from a student or secretary. It was really nice, and made me like the phone more.

And I'm not sure if it was age, the advent of the internet, or moving to England and getting a mobile with constant OHMIGOD TIMEFEAR, TUMOURS ARE GOING TO GROW IN MY HEAD AND I'LL RUN OUT OF CREDIT/BATTERIES/BRAIN IF I DON'T GET OFF IT NOW but I don't like talking on the phone at all any more.

I'd much prefer a text message if it's a simple question, you know, like "Do you wanna go down the pub?"

when i was little, when my dad was away for work, i'd talk to him on the phone. I always thought there was a minature version of him sitting inside the phone where the speakers were...

I hate to be on the phone

i hate to call people

I hate getting calls

email me dammit!!!!!

what abotu you

gah!

Yes I do hate the phone at work. I hate getting work calls so much and have gotten to the point of feeling anxiety about answering, and if I have voicemail when I come in I am so disappointed and annoyed.
And when I get personal calls at work I always feel like the other person is being so loud that I'm paranoid they are audible to others around me.
This has all been exacerbated by the stupid reconfiguration where we don't even have cubicles anymore and the whole unit is grouped together in a terrible small area so I feel self conscious about talking, eating etc.
The phone at home is a different story but I'm still not crazy about it.
I also hate overhearing other people's conversations so, so much.

I hate when they get mad abotusomething - people always epress their anger more readily over teh pone then in person

and then there is the joy of the conference call

Every time a phone rings in a movie, I cringe, and my heart rate probably spikes whenever my own phone rings. I hate phones.

I've literally never called my boyfriend on the phone in the 6 months we've been going out. We do text and irl. That's it.

Every time a phone rings in a movie, I cringe, and my heart rate probably spikes whenever my own phone rings. I hate phones.

― Orson Wellies (in orbit), vrijdag 31 oktober 2014 13:47 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^ this. And ad agencies that put ringtones in commercials are disgusting savages and deserve to be in hell tbh

Same for doorbells.

I hate the phone too. And I always feel a little sheepish for saying that because, hey, it's a goddamm telephone, right?

But

• I don't like cordless phones. I don't like mobile phones. I can't hear or listen to what the other party is saying. I can't tell if they're happy or sad. I don't like holding something up to my cheek. I don't like not knowing if the other person is ready for the conversation to be over. I don't like it when the other party is distracted and starts talking to someone else like a family member or delivery person. I don't like it when I have to do the same.

• I produced a sports radio talk show for 11 years. My primary job was to screen the callers. I still see the lights on that callboard flashing at me sometimes.

• I hate hearing multiple phones ringing throughout the house at different tones and levels. I hate telemarketers. I hate being rude to someone for rudely interrupting whatever I was doing. I hate customer service calls. There's this weird disconnect, much like the other "cars" you drive next to on the freeway, where a human is no longer a human. I think my wife would like it if I said "I love you" at the end of a call, but I don't say "I love you" at the closing of IRL conversations about what time the bug guy should come over. My little sister likes to do this sing-songy ritual of chanting 1-2-3 GOODBYE and hanging up at the same time, and I definitely hate that.

• One time in high school, the phone rang and on the other end was the voice of one of my friends. We chatted for like 20 minutes before he asked a weird question like "Did you make out with Rachel Friday after we left?" It was then that I realized I had been talking to my friend's older brother and he had believed he was talking to his best friend Lance.

Probably the easiest phone conversation I've ever had.