So I'm an introverted millennial who started working for himself a couple months back. It is SO HARD to answer calls from unknown numbers with no warning. I'm just chilling and BOOM stranger on the phone.
I'm adjusting, but I live in terror of the day the spam calls start back up and I can no longer just ignore them.
I haven't picked up the phone from a random call in 15 years.
My wife, who is an on-call medical professional, used to pick up every single call. Only in new hospital do they allow it to go to voicemail/text message. But her call log is like 95% spam calls.
I get a ton of sales calls especially after attending conferences and I usually ignore calls coming from another state. Some of them realize it though and let a local rep call instead, and I usually pick up because it might be important.
I'm in my early thirties and I used to feel this way. But in the last couple of years I've noticed I prefer calls more because it's so much easier to get things across to each other faster. As someone who travels a lot for work I also find it helps with feeling isolated/lonely as well.
Same, and same. It's crazy how much you can change in a few years. Phonecalls are fine for me now. Awkward silence, or someone talks over someone else? My worst fear a few years ago. Now? Give a shit. Pretend it didn't happen and keep the conversation flowing.
Plus, as inspiration from my mother, I'm quite happy to say goodbye to someone only to then follow up with a question that prompts a five minute extra discussion, followed by yet another goodbye and then a follow up. Oh christ, I've become what I date...
Gen-X here. We are going to call and leave voicemails until you talk to us. Just pickup and get it over with or the nightmare will never end. If we do text first, you better acknowledge fairly quickly or the calls will start.
We grew up in the era of landlines and no voicemail (occasional answering machine). Stalker level amounts of calls is just nostalgia for us. We are nightmare fuel.
I'm getting old. I get anxiety from phone calls if people don't text me days in advance that they're calling. But if they do, I'm fine!
(I used to have this one cheapo phone that worked fine on WiFi but would randomly stop working on cellular and there was no way to tell until I tried to use mobile data or whatever. So if I was expecting a call, I was constantly rebooting the damn thing.)
(Edit: Oh yeah, I have to pay extra for voice mail to the phone company. Yet, the only people who regularly call me for legitimate reasons are, like, the employment office people, and they don't do voice mail. Dammit, another scam!)