So this phone thing. How many of us are anti-phone?

[KidsHappen]

As I said in another thread, I am surprised to hear so many other people have issues with the phone so I thought I would do a poll. Feel free to expound.

[AngieW in Texas]

We got all the kids phoned this summer (only the 16yo had one before that). It has made my life much simpler, sometimes in ways that are suprising.

 

My 11yo was horribly sick this week. She had three days where she couldn't even whisper and only moved from her bed to the bathroom and back (and even then she crawled rather than walk). She texted me any time she needed me. It was so much easier than any kind of system we've tried before for when the kids were sick.

 

My 13yo was sick last week, not as bad as the 11yo. When she was holed up in her room with the door shut and the air purifier on, she couldn't hear anything from outside. She could hear her phone ring though, so I called her whenever I needed her, even though I was just downstairs.

[Nicole M]

I voted "don't do phones," but of course, for work, I do. I don't do them at home, unless I have to make a doctor's appointment of my brother calls me. Otherwise, I just do not talk on the phone.

 

For me, it's a time issue. I have a couple friends who just blab forever, and I don't have time for that. I have one friend who has a headpiece thingy, so she can talk and cook or garden at the same time. That might work for me, but I would probably have trouble keeping track of it. And besides, when I am at home, we're doing school.

[HRAAB]

I voted I don't do phones, but of course, sometimes I must use the phone. I do not use the phone just to talk, though. Make a Dr. appt., something of that nature only.

 

If I could have voted twice, I would have voted for hate phones, too.

 

Janet

[Georgiana Daniels]

My last job involved HEAVY phone work. THough I've been a SAHM for the last 5 years, I haven't gotten over cringing at the thought of using the phone.

 

Now text....that's a whole 'nother deal:D

[lionfamily1999]

There are few people I enjoying talking with on the phone. I try very hard not to give anyone my number (difficult with the kids' various clubs/groups and things).

 

I put I can if I have too... but that's not entirely true. I LOVE talking to my gramma and my sister. It's everyone else that irritates me :)

[AuntieM]

For me, the phone is utilitarian. It is not my lifeline. I answer it when it rings at a break in lesson time. I do not answer it if it takes my personal attention away from... another person!

 

I have a cell phone, but the only people who have phone numbers are my husband and children. I have a monthly minute limit, and consider it an emergency-only tool. If I did not have kids that needed to be able to contact me when we are in different locations, I may not have one at all :tongue_smilie:

 

I do enjoy talking to friends and relatives. I just enjoy it so much more face to face.

[Dirtroad]

I let most calls go. I answer mom, DH & FIL immediately...everyone else can wait. I really hate the phone. It is such a nuissance but a necessity and I can't just disconnect.

 

I really hate cell phones. People have lost their minds & manners with them & I refuse to use one on a regular basis. Yesterday, DS came out of a public restroom talking about the guy on the toilet talking on the phone. Even grossed out my 10 year old.

 

The landline is constant sales calls, gossip calls (which I do not return), or other non important contacts. However, the computer is via landline & it is cheaper than a cell... so it stays. Our cell phones are pay as you go types... trac phones. So, we dont' use them except when traveling or going to doctors.

 

I used to love the phone & visiting friends/family. Now, I want to throw it through the wall. No one calls to visit... it is to sell, whine, or promote. Ugh.

[Word Nerd]

I voted I hate it. I avoid using the phone whenever possible.

 

I used to have a customer service job and was one of the people that "hot" calls got escalated to, and that may have something to do with my reluctance to use the phone.

[Audrey]

As I said in another thread, I am surprised to hear so many other people have issues with the phone so I thought I would do a poll. Feel free to expound.

 

 

Ringing phone usually means work. I screen calls to weed out the obvious telemarketers, but I generally have to answer. I don't like talking on the phone. I'd rather talk in person, but it's a necessary tool, I guess. I could take it or leave it.

[Night Elf]

I prefer contact by email unless it's my mom just wanting to chat. Yet even then, I can only listen for about 10 - 15 mins. She has a tendency to talk about the same subject over and over. Other than making doctor and dentist visits, I don't use the phone much. If I'm not at home or my DH isn't at home, we use cell phones to check in with each other, but we don't really talk. My dd17 has a cell and texts or calls me to let me know what she's doing while she isn't home.

 

I was a phone-a-holic as a teen and young adult. Now I guess I don't have anyone to talk to so have no need to use the phone much. :)

[LibraryLover]

I do not like the phone. Some people still use one...like my mother and MIL. lol

 

I love texting. You can send market lists to your dh...which is nice. :D You can leave a message about what time to meet and where. You can tell your child you are on your way. You can leave I Love You notes. You don't need a pen to write down phone numbers! Nobody has to hear your conversations.

 

I don't text while driving, I promise!

[HeatherInWI]

I like my traditional phone, but our cells are emergency only.

[Mandy in TN]

We have no landline- only cell phones.

 

I have a few people around the country that I keep in touch with by phone (some weekly- elderly out-of-state granny with no computer, some monthly or less- childhood friends/ some relatives, some a few times a year on holidays and birthdays- brother who usually just e-mails). I talk with my mom (over 200 miles away) usually briefly several times a week.

 

However, on many days the only phone call I make/ receive is the one from dh when he is on his way home and wants to know if he should pick anything up or I need to ask him to pick something up. This call is usually under 1 min.

 

I don't usually hate the phone, but I don't like to use it to chat with someone that I will see at the park on Friday.

 

Mandy, who has suddenly realized that she needs to call her granny!

[Firefly]

I am socially challenged to begin with; take away my non-verbal cues and it's a disaster! I'm never sure if the other person is done speaking or not, so my conversations vacillate between awkward silences and interrupting. Ugh. So...

I voted "if I have to".

 

DH, sister, and mom are the only people I'm 100% comfortable with on the phone. Usually I screen, and often respond via email instead of a call back.

[OH_Homeschooler]

I have noticed I've become far more phone-averse lately. I like to use it for quick calls to DH (when we're not IMing) and such, but otherwise, I just don't like it. It just seems awkward and it's hard to have a real conversation on the phone when I have kids around-they're so distracting. Which means I should be talking to my long-distance people (family, best friend) once the kids go to bed, but by then I'm drained and just want to be alone (hence my participation in the introvert thread).

 

My mom teases me for calling all the time when I'm at Target-well that's because I usually go to Target by myself and I can actually follow the conversation better than when I have screaming kids to deal with. And she's always disappointed because she mostly just wants to talk to the kids.

 

Then there are the miscommunications-I think it's been worse on the phone than on email. People misread my tone, think I'm upset, etc. No, just tired/frustrated/what-have-you.

 

So anyway, I find it's quite problematic to use the phone. I much prefer Facebook, email, and face-to-face conversation. In that order.

[....]

I have something close to a phone phobia...very strange and long story...

 

I have alcoholics in my family and one of the "techniques" they liked to use when I was a kid was to call family members over and over again and hang up. We also had an answering machine where you could hear what message was being left at the time. Anyway, they would threaten to kill us and scream obscenities over the answering machine.

 

It was so bad that I used to sleep with a baseball bat when I was about 11-12.

 

So, yeah, I never answer the phone unless it's my husband or sisters. I don't care if people call me weird or rude or whatever. If they lived through something like that, they'd be weird too.

[MamaSheep]

I voted I hate it. But of course I can and do use it when necessary. Fortunately, I have a dh who has an obsessive compulsion about ringing phones so I don't have to worry about it much. There is no point in my trying to answer a phone unless he isn't home, because he will beat me there every time. He is a very effective call-screening service.

[Doran]

I have no problem with phones. The phone (cell and land) is there for my convenience. When I don't want to talk, I don't answer.

 

(Shhh!...I've even been known to sit and listen to an incoming call from my own mother simply because I didn't feel like talking at that particular time. One of the reasons I like my old fashioned answering machine (no caller ID here). In contrast, my mother will answer her land line while talking to me on her cell phone. Drives me batty!!)

[PineFarmMom]

I answer the phone when I choose. If it is my mom and I'm not homeschooling, I always answer. If it is dh and I'm homeschooling or not homeschooling, I always answer. Other than that, if I'm homeschooling I let the machine get it. I know many may not agree, but if I'm home, in my own space, taking care of things that need to get done here, I reserve the right not to answer. I guess I don't feel obligated to the phone if it rings...it's optional. If it's business or something important, a message can be left and I'll take care of it. My first obligations are with my dh and family and responsibilities here.

[Lovedtodeath]

I can do it if I have to. I have a hard time hearing, my kids always interrupt and conversations take way too much time. Time that I honestly don't have.

[ncmomo3]

I really despise hearing it ring more than actually talking on the phone. Phone for info. is preferable to me than phone for general chit-chat.

[KrissiK]

I hate the phone. I hate talking to someone I can't see. I hate that, unless it's business, I am calling them and it may be an inconvenient time for them to talk. I hate that "dead time" where, if you are just chit-chatting and you run out of things to say. Generally, if I'm calling someone, even if it's just business, I try to time it when I know they'll be out, or at work or something and I can leave a message.

[Lovedtodeath]

:iagree:

I hate the phone. I hate talking to someone I can't see. I hate that, unless it's business, I am calling them and it may be an inconvenient time for them to talk. I hate that "dead time" where, if you are just chit-chatting and you run out of things to say. Generally, if I'm calling someone, even if it's just business, I try to time it when I know they'll be out, or at work or something and I can leave a message.

:iagree:exactly!

[Krista in LA]

I put I hate it, but there are a few people like my dad, db, and bff that I will talk to on the phone, no problem. I don't answer the home phone, just my cell. I have a very hard time making calls even when I have to, so I try to get dh to do it for me unless it's making an appt that I have to go to or take the kids to.

[newbie]

I have no problem with phones. The phone (cell and land) is there for my convenience. When I don't want to talk, I don't answer.

 

(Shhh!...I've even been known to sit and listen to an incoming call from my own mother simply because I didn't feel like talking at that particular time. One of the reasons I like my old fashioned answering machine (no caller ID here). In contrast, my mother will answer her land line while talking to me on her cell phone. Drives me batty!!)

 

LOL, that reminds me of my poor 86 yo grandma , who calls and yells at the voice mail. I keep telling her its not a machine. But, she keeps yellin, Pick up the phoone, I know you are there.

 

Btw, I love talkin on the phone, email is so cold and misunderstood. I give you all permission to call.

[Garga]

I hate the phone. We finally unplugged it during hs hours two weeks ago. It's been the best two weeks ever! I don't get those constant interruptions.

 

Unfortunately, I'm passing on my hatred of the phone to my kids. Now, whenever it rings they groan, "Oh no! It's the phone--AGAIN!" and grimace. They're only 4 and 6, so it's really silly to hear them do it.

 

But I used to work customer service at a health insurance company. That'll cure anyone of loving the phone. All those furious people calling and then you have to tell them why their $2000 MRI wasn't covered, and it's not gonna be and they start ranting or crying. UGH. I hate the phone. (I hated that job--I was too much of a softie to have to deliver all that bad news all day long.)

[Denisemomof4]

I can do it if I have to, and sometimes it's my preferred way to communicate with my good friends whom I'm too busy to see more often. Sometimes I'm too spent in my own life to answer the phone, and other times I need to do things around the home while I'm supporting a friend in need.

 

I'm an extrovert, love my friends, but have my priorities straight. Dh and kids first, friends when I have time. And I cherish the time I have with friends.

 

Phone calls are usually a way to catch up when I haven't had time to see friends. It's more common in the school year. At the same time, it's more common NOT to have time for phone calls during the school year. Go figure. ;)

[Peela]

I really don't like making phone calls, or receiving them, but I love emails. I really had to force myself to phone my Dad the other day for Father's Day (in Australia).

My mobile phone always has a flat battery, too. I just like to keep it for emergencies but it must have a faulty battery because it still goes flat in a couple of days.

I am considering getting a touch phone because the seem easy to use and it would be a convenient way to stay in touch with my now roving dd15, but I havent got around to it yet. ANd I can always phone her on her mobile with a landline.

I love technology, I really do. But I dont like being "accessible" on a phone 24/7.

[keptwoman]

A few years ago I used to use my mobile all the time. I've developed a bit of a phone phobia over the last few years, I avoid making calls as I'd much rather email or text. I don't mind answering the phone but I'm not a chatterer, people who ring me tend to get a hello then a silence while I wait for them to tell me why they rang.