On the Telephone

[kybearfuzz]

I have never been a phone chatter. Ever.

When I was a kid, when my sister and brother basically kept our house phone tied up for hours a day, I used marvel at why anyone would enjoy it. And this was back when you were basically tethered to the wall with the cord.

After I got out of the house, it never improved and still holds little fascination for me. I have over 4,000 rollover minutes on my cell phone. The longest I spend on the phone is between a half-hour and an hour, usually talking to my mom or to aceofspace. There have been exceptions when I chatted on the phone with some LJ'ers, but they are few and far between. Even when I'm dating someone, which is a rare thing, I'd rather be with him in person than on the phone with him.

I was chatting online with a guy this weekend and I think I irritated him when I begged off talking with him on the phone. It's not that he's not a great guy and I wouldn't mind hearing his voice, but talking on the phone is just unappealing to me. This is a difficult thing to explain to someone when he doesn't know me personally.

Am I alone in this? Just curious.

Comments

[pink-halen.livejournal.com]

For those of us who like to talk on the phone the "phonephobic" can prove to be a problem. Some have resorted to only texting. It is hard to text from a land line. But for those of us who don't understand, It is hard to imagine what there is to dislike. Of course, talking face to face is preferable but I often have trouble getting people to agree to that.

So, What's missing? Is it the nonverbal feed back? Is it a hearing problem with the phone service. Do you miss the hot breath? We, in the other camp, just don't understand.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm not sure if I can find the exact issue I have with phone chatting. I've never been comfortable with a receiver to my ear for long periods of time. I get distracted easily as well and my mind will wander.

Those things and all of the small unidentifiable quirks make phone conversing adverse for me.