s/o texting: How much do you hate talking on the phone?

[Belacqua]

I have a neighbor that is so self-absorbed and extremely scattered. I despise talking to this woman. It's a half and hour of her going on and on. So when she calls me, her "message" or "text message" is ..... "call me." OMGosh THAT enrages me. Give me a clue what it's about. Sheesh!

 

 

Oh, yes! I have a friend like that. I am very fond of her and have accepted that every conversation will be 98% about her, but trying to deal with her over the phone is nearly impossible. She gets distracted by her kids or the tv. She runs her blender while we're talking. She goes on rambling tangents about her high school algebra teacher (What was her name? Miss Proctor? No, not Proctor...that was her neighbor. You know, the one with the glass eye? Miss Perkins! Ooh, have you ever had the potato pancakes at Perkins? They're really good, even though they used canned applesauce. Oh, and her apple trees aren't producing well this year. What were we talking about?).

 

So texting has made life with her ever so much easier. Her texts are still longer and more meandering than any others I've seen, but at least she's sort of forced to stay more or less on topic.

[Guest]

If the phone rings when I'm busy, I'm irritated. If the phone rings when I'm sleeping in, I'm enraged.

 

My MIL wants to do all ineractions via phone. She called two days ago and I still haven't called her back. I feel both guilt and annoyance about it both at the same time. I haven't had the 20 free minutes to make The Call in the past two days. There's only one tidbit of information to exchange, so why does it have to take 20 minutes!? Urgh.

 

This is my SIL. :glare: It is SO annoying. She has sent me texts saying, "Call me." I cannot describe how much I hate that. When I finally do work up the patience to call her, the content of the call could have SO been sent in a text or e-mail. But she wants to talk on the phone so she can talk for 20 minutes about something that boils down to, "Dinner is at 6:30. Drinks before, starting at 5:00. Please bring a dessert and a vegetable dish." :glare:

[saraha]

Thank you for this thread! It has helped me to better understand a couple of people in my life. I thought they were "Just not that into me" but then we would get along great in person and would feel really confused by what I thought were mixed signals.

[MrsMe]

Oh, yes! I have a friend like that. I am very fond of her and have accepted that every conversation will be 98% about her, but trying to deal with her over the phone is nearly impossible. She gets distracted by her kids or the tv. She runs her blender while we're talking. She goes on rambling tangents about her high school algebra teacher (What was her name? Miss Proctor? No, not Proctor...that was her neighbor. You know, the one with the glass eye? Miss Perkins! Ooh, have you ever had the potato pancakes at Perkins? They're really good, even though they used canned applesauce. Oh, and her apple trees aren't producing well this year. What were we talking about?).

 

So texting has made life with her ever so much easier. Her texts are still longer and more meandering than any others I've seen, but at least she's sort of forced to stay more or less on topic.

 

Lucky you. This person I know refuses to text unless except if she does it is this texting blurb: "call me," and never gives us an inkling of what she wants. Never. But the conversation sounds just as scattered, except that's it's only about her kids/family and what she wants. I wish her conversation was this generic! And she does it during my hs time. She's so scattered she never checked her 9 yr old dd's math work and found out after a year she was just plugging in numbers. Two years later....it happened again. Then she laughs...... And I have to listen to it all. It takes two days and at least 5 phone calls before we figure out her girls can play with mine. But I suppose this is off topic. Sorry. I do have friends that are quick to the point.

[Ali in OR]

We call it being "phone shy" in this house. Dh and I are both afflicted, and since our dds have almost never talked on the phone, I believe they've probably inherited it from us.

 

I'm okay with business or functional calls. I can order pizza, make a hair appointment, etc. I like to do business in person if possible--ask about a bill at the hospital or doctor's office for instance. In the working world I used to prefer to walk to a person's desk than call them. I find face-to-face communication easier than I-can't-see-you-and-we-have-to-figure-out-whose-turn-it-is-to-talk communication. I have more trouble with calling friends or acquaintances--I don't know why. More of a feeling that I'll be judged or won't say the right thing. Dh is the opposite--doesn't like business or functional calls, but has less trouble with friends or acquaintances.

[BarbecueMom]

 

 

This is my SIL. :glare: It is SO annoying. She has sent me texts saying, "Call me." I cannot describe how much I hate that. When I finally do work up the patience to call her, the content of the call could have SO been sent in a text or e-mail.

 

I have a family member who does something similar, but instead of, "Call me!" I get a text about something that makes absolutely no sense... unless I call and ask what the heck that message meant. Think vague Facebook statuses, sent directly to your phone. It's irritating because I feel like I'm being begged or manipulated into calling, and the original reason for wanting to get a hold of me has nothing to do with the text - that was just the hook to get me to call first!

[Susan in TN]

I hate making calls except to dh. Aside from nuisance calls, no one other than dh ever calls me. I don't think I'd mind friendly calls.

[KrissiK]

Thank you for this thread! It has helped me to better understand a couple of people in my life. I thought they were "Just not that into me" but then we would get along great in person and would feel really confused by what I thought were mixed signals.

 

I always tell my friends right off the bat, "I will not call you , but that does not mean I don't like you. I just don't call anybody."

[5wolfcubs]

We call it being "phone shy" in this house. Dh and I are both afflicted, and since our dds have almost never talked on the phone, I believe they've probably inherited it from us.

 

SO true at our house as well! And my girls are in their late teens! :w00t:

 

Even though I despise making calls, I do all household ones unless they specifically require speaking to the "account holder" and dh is the only one. Then he must do it and it is his own fault for not putting me on the account jointly. :smilielol5:

[ereks mom]

I have no idea why I hate talking on the phone, but it seems to be getting worse as I get older. I would MUCH prefer to text or FB message (or email). I don't know why I feel this way, but I do. The only time I answer the phone is if I know who it is, and sometimes even then if I don't feel like being chatty I'll let it go to voicemail.

 

The funny thing is that face-to-face, I'm quite talkative!

 

:iagree:

[AHASRADA]

Love talking on the phone, love talking in general. I typically chat with my mom 30-90 min. per day, and many calls with friends run over an hour. If dh has to wait somewhere or is stuck in traffic, he'll call and we'll talk the entire time.

 

I have never texted, don't have any idea how. I only have a basic pay-as-you-go cell phone for emergencies which I rarely use, and my kids don't have phones, so who would I text anyway? I can see it's usefulness when only basic info needs to be exchanged, particularly in a setting not conducive to chatting (a performance, lecture, etc.). Otherwise, why not just talk?

[katilac]

 

LOL, I *might* make an exception for pizza.

 

Dude, you can order pizza ONLINE!!

 

My sister is grandfathered in, otherwise I hate talking on the phone so much I should change my voice mail greeting to say "Hang up and text me."

 

There is a special circle in heck for people who leave text or phone messages that say "call me."

[Lisbeth]

Always have hated talking on the phone. My mum is the only one I talk to, otherwise it is usually an appointment reminder call or something and they can leave a message.

 

BTW I hate Skype too. It feels so forced and awkward to me, but DH likes to see us if he us gone for an extended period.

 

 

This. I am not a phone person EXCEPT with my mom.

[LaxMom]

 

 

:laugh: :laugh: I love this - exactly how I feel, too.

 

Me, too.

 

And I answered first choice on each section but I think the reason I talk less since I've had a smart phone is because everyone else has them, too, and we can all text easily (as opposed to pecking out text from a numeric key pad) or send/answer emails on the fly.

 

So, my husband texts me when he gets to work, before he goes running. He'll call later to chat briefly, and we'll talk again in the evening (24 hr shift), but we may text over the day. When my boss emails something for me to look at, she doesn't have to call to tell me, or she texts to see if I'll be in during the day if she wants to grab me for a conversation. Friends will text a link to a new recipe they just made... That sort of thing.

[Firefly]

The only people I enjoy chatting on the phone with are my mom, sister and DH. Otherwise I'm in the "hate it" camp. I become a social moron on the phone... never quite sure if the person is done with what they're saying so I either wind up with false starts, talking at the same time, cutting them off, or simply stuck in the dreaded awkward silence. I heavily rely on non-verbal cues IRL conversation.... take those away from me and it's a nightmare. UGH. Please, just text me. As far as I'm concerned it's a fantastic invention!

[Guest]

I voted I do hate to talk on the phone, but there are some exceptions.

 

I will always talk to my mom. I miss her; we moved out of state a few years ago.

I don't mind making service calls, "hey, please schedule our pest control for next week"

I will always talk to dh, although we usually text unless it's a longer conversation

I don't like to talk to friends/acquaintances. Luckily my best friend texts. I recently met a new friend who is a talker and she always calls me and I always text her. I have been trying to be better about answering her calls, but I really prefer just to text. She laughs at me, so that's good. :p

 

Oh, and pizza? Always order online!