# Anyone else hate talking on the phone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 2, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145 "2006-05-02T20:07:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/41 "2006-05-03T15:44:28Z")
Addendum: One good thing about cellphones is how common dropped calls are. If I am talking to someone and cannot get off the phone, I say, “hello…helloo…you are breaking up…Oh well, talk to ya later…click”. ---
**Author:** ![Wensleydale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@Wensleydale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wensleydale)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/42 "2006-05-03T20:29:32Z")
I hate phones, I ignore the at work, luckily its a communal phone so if it rings long enough someone will answer it but it will not be me. At home my cell rings about once a week usually from one of three people so then I answer it as I want to speak to them but I still check caller id first to see if its is someone I do not want to talk to. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/43 "2006-05-04T02:16:30Z")
Hate it. And unfortunately, a good portion of my job involves answering the phone, talking on the phone, phoning other people, leaving messages, picking up messages, and then checking voice mail for all the calls I missed while I was making phone calls. I really only ever talk to my husband on the phone voluntarily. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/44 "2006-05-04T02:42:36Z")
Ugh. I detest phones. I have hated them as long as I can remember. I have a cell phone. When I first got it, I got about 900 minutes a month. My reasoning was that after my boyfriend and I finally finish our breakup and I get my own place, my cell will become my primary phone. Then I checked my last two bills and realized that I used a grand total of 25 minutes over a 2 month span. I have since reduced my minutes. I have unlimited texting because my friends all either hate talking on the phone or are just incapable of it. I’ve decided that I much prefer texting. It’s enough of a chore for most people that they don’t subject me to much chat. Today, a friend was in a panic. Man trouble. She wanted to talk. I drove 25 minutes to her house and spent my last day off for over a week comforting her just to avoid a phone call which would have been probably less than 1 hour long. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/45 "2006-05-04T05:06:45Z")
Another phone hater here. The ringing phone actually raised hackles I didn’t know I had so I changed it to a bird chirpy sound. The hackles have settled down but I still hate the darned thing. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/46 "2006-05-04T15:55:23Z")
I _LOATHE_, hate, and despise that evil, evil telecommunications device, oftentimes I wonder if Alexander Graham Bell understood the true nature of the Evil he loosed upon the world… I have to deal with phone calls from _idiots_ who shouldn’t be operating any mechanical device simpler than a _toaster_, for 8 hours a day, i tend to take a homicidal approach to the phone ringing, the sound of a phone ring triggers my instinctive “MACTECH SMASH PHONE!!!” reaction, which i have to suppress… So, it goes without saying, after dealing with the sodding thing for 8 hours at work, the _LAST_ thing I want to deal with at home is the frelling phone, my ringer is turned _off_, I have an angry-sounding “this had better be frakking important” style greeting on the answering machine\*\* and I screen _ALL_ my calls, I only pick up the phone if it’s a family member, or a couple of my old college freinds, everyone else leaves a message (if the greeting hasn’t scared them into hanging up first, that is) and I _might_ return the call if I feel like it, when I can get around to it… thankfully, the Do-Not-Call list has eliminated telemarketer calls… \*\* My answering machine message is me saying in a cold, dead, yet slightly angry and menacing tone; “You know the routine…leave a message” the tone in my voice basically says "there had better be a _fucking_ good reason for you to call this number… I’ve had _many_ people remark on how _scary_ my greeting message is, and i get a _lot_ of hang-ups… …so the message is doing it’s job quite well then, I _want_ them to hang up and not leave a message, I sure as hell don’t want to talk to them… ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/47 "2006-05-04T16:05:08Z")
I don’t think the phone is inherently evil, I think phone calls are just too easy and cheap now. No more party lines, no more rotary dials, cheap long distance. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/48 "2006-05-04T16:10:21Z")
To make matters worse, there’s a telemarketing company in a little mini-mall about 5 minutes away from the house, every time I drive past it, I have to suppress various urges; 1; climb the side of the building and cut the phone line going into the building, preventing them from bugging people 2; walking in there and berating them into getting a job that doesn’t involve pissing people off and hawking useless crap 3; going in with my paintball marker and bunkering the lot of them 😉 4; designing some form of EMP weapon or computer virus to fry their computers in the end, i simply snarl at them as i drive past and ignore them, it’s for the best, really… ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/49 "2006-05-04T16:11:00Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > thankfully, the Do-Not-Call list has eliminated telemarketer calls… Not entirely. I got a solicitation call _to my cell phone_ the other day. The company was hired by a non-profit to solicit donations for them. I marked that particular non-profit off my list for any donations **evar**.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mellivora\_capensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mellivora\_capensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mellivora_capensis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/50 "2006-05-04T16:13:03Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > Me. I startle easily, and a ringing phone is generally enough to do it. ANNE!!! Hee hee hee hee hee… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/51 "2006-05-04T16:16:46Z")
I am amazed that so many other people realize the idea that anyone who can push a few buttons has the right to take up your time with their idiot drivel is not always a good thing. The people I work with have a favorite line “Why didn’t you call me?” Because I didn’t feel like talking to you. I do not have a home phone. The office pays for the cell phone I take home, which I only do if there is an emergency. I’ve used it twice in 10 years, and once was to call in sick! ---
**Author:** ![Wnabtokio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Wnabtokio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wnabtokio)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/52 "2006-05-04T16:20:21Z")
I hate the phone too! I really like to be able to see someone’s face and body language while I’m talking to them, and if I can’t, I’m not interested. My family knows to email me if they really need something. My boyfriend and I talk by text, email or in person only, unless there is an emergency. The phone annoys me every time it rings, but I do pick it up. Sadly. The slightly ironic thing? My job is answering the phone all day. Although I think that if most people answered 60-80 phone calls a day, they wouldn’t be too keen on it when they got home either… ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/53 "2006-05-04T22:18:01Z")
I have a phone phobia - always have! Even as a teenager I would often ignore my phone ringing (my parents were astonished that a 14-year-old girl who insisted on having her own phone line could resist the temptation to answer). I hate to make calls and I hate to answer them. Caller ID is great, but I rarely need it, because I won’t answer anyway (unless it is my husband). Email has made it easier for me to indulge this phobia. Ironically, most of my jobs have included receptionist duties. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Endless\_Flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e480ec/32.png) [@Endless\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Endless_Flight)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145/54 "2006-05-04T22:19:25Z")
I just hate talking on the phone after a while because I get antsy, and the fact is, my ears literally hurt after about twenty minutes. The only time they didn’t hurt is when I was talking to my wife before we met in person for hours on end. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-hate-talking-on-the-phone/355145.md?page=2)