Communication technology has changed everything. We expect to be communicated with first in ways that have a minimal impact on our time and personal space, like

Communication technology has changed everything. We expect to be communicated with first in ways that have a minimal impact on our time and personal space, like text, email or a messaging system. We can handle those communications if and when we deem fit. Someone calling on the phone or knocking on the door is someone demanding immediate and exclusive use of my time for reasons only they know. In the case of a door, they are also asking for access to my home (to a degree). The fact that the vast majority of those calls and knocks are for sales, religion or politics make us rightly avoidant. And sure, some can even be dangerous. But almost none of them are people we actually want to communicate with. Those people would have already called/texted/emailed. If they called, we'd recognize their number. If they were coming over, they'd give us advance warning. So the folks left surprising us are the folks we are least likely to want to engage with.