Once upon a time in the olden days, the phone hung on the wall or sat on a table and it was usually answered by whoever was closest. Oh, and you didn’t know who was calling till you answered. Can you imagine??
Fast forward to today - will you answer the phone for someone who isn’t nearby? Would you be bothered if someone answered your phone while you were out of the room or whatever?
When my husband’s phone rings and he’s not around, I’ll check the caller ID and may or may not answer. He’ll do the same for me. My MIL lives with us and I’ll occasionally grab her phone if she’s napping or out of the room. But I wouldn’t touch anyone else’s phone unless they expressly asked me to.
For anyone other than my husband, only if specifically asked to. For my husband’s phone, depends on whether caller ID says it’s someone high-priority (family member, business we’re currently working with on something, his employer, medical-related), since I do have his consent to do so in those situations, and he’s allowed to answer mine in similar situations. I prefer not to have anyone other than him answer mine unless I ask them to do so (e.g., co-worker is closest and I’m expecting something fairly urgent and ask them to answer and let the caller know I’ll be right there).
The only times I’ve ever answered a phone that wasn’t mine were back when there were public pay phones, and one would ring. I always loved answering those, especially in an airport (“LaGuardia, may I help you?”) or on the street (“Washington DC, may I help you?”). The response was generally silence, then a hang up.
If I were to come across a ringing public pay phone today, I’d still answer it – after a moment of shock that it existed. Otherwise, though, I can’t imagine answering someone else’s phone unless I was specifically asked/told it was OK to do so.
The only way I’m answering someone else’s phone is if I’ve been portaled to some sort of sit-com/rpg universe where I have to generate simple misunderstandings to survive until I can level up to compromising positions and plot contrivances.
I’ll occasionally answer my wife’s phone if she is not readily available, and caller ID shows it’s a medical office calling, or perhaps a close friend whose call she would welcome. However, if it were my phone and I wasn’t available, I don’t think she would answer it. She would let it go to voicemail. She hates answering phones.
My wife’s, and only if she asks (almost never) or it’s her parents.
For that matter, if someone calls, and I see or am near the phone, so is she. If she’s in the shower, the lou, or taking a nap, it’s (well except the last) not a problem for her to get back to them quickly.
The other time I answer for her is if we’re driving, and even then, unless she’s expecting an important call, 95% of the time it’s fine to go to Voicemail.
I only answer my phone if it’s not the default ring. Family, friends, and specific businesses have assigned rings. The default mostly means it’s a spam call. On the rare occasions it’s legit, there’s always a voicemail.
As for MIL’s phone, if callerID shows her sister or her youngest son, I’ll grab it for her if only to say “she’s napping” but the rest of her calls can go to VM or directly to Hades
My mom has VOIP and I’ve answered for her if she can’t get to the phone fast enough (she’s 90) not that I’m at her house much these days. But unless specifically asked, I won’t touch anyone’s phone, not my sibs, not my daughter or SIL…
Like several have mentioned, I don’t like talking on the phone. Funny, when I was a teen, I could chatter for hours if allowed. Now, unless it’s business, I find it a colossal bother.
I answered Wife 2.0’s phone. She returned the call, and the caller accused me of monitoring her calls. 2.0 assured her that was not the case. I tell Wife 3.0 if her daughter calls. I answered 3.0’s daughter’s call once, and there was no flak.
