I Have Little Patience for Phone Calls in the Era of Easy Communication

If you want to talk to me, you’ll be able to find me somehow.

Photo by Kyle Cleveland on Unsplash

One of my good friends loves to talk on the phone. She’s old-school in many ways and has never made the full transition to the world accessible through either her smartphone or her laptop. Her best news source comes from the people she phones every day to get all the “deets” of what’s going on in the public and private spheres.

I’m the opposite. A few of my jobs have involved handling calls when they came in, and I felt tension in my chest each time I had to answer the phone. Even my new job includes a desk phone where I have my own extension; I dread the day I have to field calls and try to soothe unhappy callers — or, perhaps worse, ones with tons of questions I may not be able to answer.

Even on a personal level, though, I have an aversion to phone calls. My high school friends loved gossiping about the school day in those after-hours calls, but me? I just listened, mostly staying silent or going, “Mm-hmm,” while staring up at the ceiling.

Things have changed over the past decade, of course. Most of us are accessible through social media or email at the click of a button or tap on a screen. Video calls especially had their own renaissance…