For whom the phone rings

It better not ring for me.

I hate the phone. Hate. I’ve long said I will be having a serious talk with Alexander Graham Bell when I die for inventing the foul thing.

Phones are extremely rude. When someone calls me they force me to be on their schedule. They interrupt whatever it is I am doing so that I can quickly respond to their need whether it fits with what I am doing or not. And then if they leave a message, they force me to be equally rude by calling back. I have no idea what is happening on the other side of the phone when I call. And I have no idea what is waiting me if I answer when someone else calls. That’s a whole lot of unknowns.

Note I said, “if I answer.” Because generally I don’t and won’t. I am not a slave to the phone. I refuse to be. Which is why my phone is frequently off or not within range of my hearing, or I just plain old push ignore when it rings.

For me, phones are for family (and thank goodness for caller ID so I know it’s them) and absolute dire emergencies (which 99% of the time are about family so I’d answer anyway since it’s on the caller ID). Everything else pretty much gets ignored.

The best way to contact me? Send me an email. It won’t interrupt me. I can respond when I have time to actually think about your questions. And I don’t have to interrupt you to reply. My email is open enough during the day that I respond rather quickly. And, I’m more likely to respond to an email than I ever am to a phone call.

It’s not just that I’m avoiding talking to people. I’m just fine having a face-to-face conversation with someone. I’d much rather go to someone’s house and talk to them than call them on the phone or have them call me. But a phone call is not face-to-face, it’s not even close.

Two real good articles about the evils and death of the phone.

• The Introvert’s Corner – The Great Phone Hang Up?
• Wired – The Death of the Phone Call