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Most younger people I know don’t want to call anyone in the first place. They have a smartphone but they use it almost entirely to chat/social stuff etc. Callin

by baxtr 8y ago

Most younger people I know don’t want to call anyone in the first place. They have a smartphone but they use it almost entirely to chat/social stuff etc. Calling is what old folks do

derefr 8y ago
> Calling is what old folks do One might think this is why calling has become unpopular, but that's just an excuse people use when they don't want to reveal the real reason: huge numbers of people in the younger generations who have social anxiety that makes itself known—among other times—when they realize they have to talk on the phone. As soon as it was an option, these people switched to asynchronous communications media, and never looked back. Everyone else in their social circles got pulled along, if they didn't want to give up talking to these people.
- baxtr 8y ago
  I think there is a high probability that your explanation is true. People often chose the easiest path (in this case the one with least psychological strain)
- ethagknight 8y ago
  Side note, your comment probably sounds ridiculous to some readers here, but I can vouch that, as a young engineer, I absolutely loathed, was borderline terrified, at having to pick up the phone and call someone, whether its a client, consultant, or even a coworker. Basically I was terrified of not knowing answers and people knowing that I was a fresh-out-of-college engineer and get mad, or I was scared of. I'm not antisocial and not even afraid of public speaking, but for some reason, I had a thing about the phone. It was a personal shortcoming that I've worked through and thankfully overcome (the hard way, I might add, via hard knocks).
drusepth 8y ago
Yeah. I stopped calling businesses years ago unless I knew I'd only ever get a robot on the other side. This is particularly unfortunate because there is (usually) value in calls, but the idea of having to talk to a human is so offputting it's enough to lose that value. (As an aside: for whatever reason it's way more common to go from machine --> human on calls, but asking to go from human --> machine is often 1. impossible, and 2. "rude"). Likewise, I also stopped answering my phone for calls other than my own contacts shortly after starting a company. Everyone else can leave a voicemail, and I will either text or email back.

by baxtr 8y ago

Most younger people I know don’t want to call anyone in the first place. They have a smartphone but they use it almost entirely to chat/social stuff etc. Calling is what old folks do

derefr 8y ago

> Calling is what old folks do One might think this is why calling has become unpopular, but that's just an excuse people use when they don't want to reveal the real reason: huge numbers of people in the younger generations who have social anxiety that makes itself known—among other times—when they realize they have to talk on the phone. As soon as it was an option, these people switched to asynchronous communications media, and never looked back. Everyone else in their social circles got pulled along, if they didn't want to give up talking to these people.

baxtr 8y ago
I think there is a high probability that your explanation is true. People often chose the easiest path (in this case the one with least psychological strain)
ethagknight 8y ago
Side note, your comment probably sounds ridiculous to some readers here, but I can vouch that, as a young engineer, I absolutely loathed, was borderline terrified, at having to pick up the phone and call someone, whether its a client, consultant, or even a coworker. Basically I was terrified of not knowing answers and people knowing that I was a fresh-out-of-college engineer and get mad, or I was scared of. I'm not antisocial and not even afraid of public speaking, but for some reason, I had a thing about the phone. It was a personal shortcoming that I've worked through and thankfully overcome (the hard way, I might add, via hard knocks).

drusepth 8y ago

Yeah. I stopped calling businesses years ago unless I knew I'd only ever get a robot on the other side. This is particularly unfortunate because there is (usually) value in calls, but the idea of having to talk to a human is so offputting it's enough to lose that value. (As an aside: for whatever reason it's way more common to go from machine --> human on calls, but asking to go from human --> machine is often 1. impossible, and 2. "rude"). Likewise, I also stopped answering my phone for calls other than my own contacts shortly after starting a company. Everyone else can leave a voicemail, and I will either text or email back.