People who send WhatsApp Voice Notes are the worst

SomehowItsMay · 2026-06-29T10:44:27+00:00

"They're easier". Yes....easier for the sender only, not the recipient! They have a function occasionally (i.e. if something is hard to explain and needs a bit of extra context) but other than that they're just lazy. And the rambling ones... just no. Please organise your thoughts before you share them. AIBU?

MCF86 · 30/06/2026 20:26

I always reply by text "I'll have to come back to listen to that later" and then inevitably forget.

Nobody sends me them any more though so despite not being intentional, it was an effective strategy!

Chocolattecoffeecup · 30/06/2026 20:14

TheCurious0range · 29/06/2026 22:23

It's not convenient for me to have to find somewhere quiet and take time out to listen to someone monologue at me. I enjoy social interaction and you get that from a phone call, you also get immediate response, laughter, tone shift, gasps, in the moment reactions, follow up questions etc. Conversation isn't as stilted or formulaic as you talk for 3 minutes, I talk back for the minutes. If you just have info to relay, text and I'll read it when I can. I can read much faster than you can speak.

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They don't have to be three minutes and personally I'd prefer a voice note I can listen to in my own time. I have some good friends though and so I enjoy listening to them talk.

Hatey · 30/06/2026 15:46

Don’t send them to me because I won’t be listening to them. I will send a text asking what was said. But listening never.
I am middle aged, but I think they are rude unless you know the person likes receiving them.

Tryingtokeepgoing · 30/06/2026 15:32

Backedoffhackedoff · 29/06/2026 16:14

I love a voice note. People who whinge about them tend to be old and whiney generally tbh.

IME voicenotes are used by all age groups, though not many use them effectively. But if we want to stereotype I would say they tend to be used by the the disorganised, the inconsiderate, people pleasers and the illliterate ;)

Of course, with consent any form of communciation is absolutey fine. To use them without checking that the recipient is actually going to listen seems a remarkable waste of time to me :)

mrswhiplington · 30/06/2026 15:07

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 30/06/2026 13:47

Not to mention that phone calls don't usually involve someone monologuing at you, unlike voice notes.

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Oh I don't know, I've had a few of those. 😁

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/06/2026 15:03

SomehowItsMay · 30/06/2026 13:59

I mean, it's good to be honest about these things 😂

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I even reply via text talk on many thread like I am now

I do try not waffle too much on Mn

Original poster

SomehowItsMay · 30/06/2026 13:59

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/06/2026 13:56

I waffle

I start off meaning to do a quick one

10mins later I’m still waffling 😂

I mean, it's good to be honest about these things 😂

OP posts:

WhatFreshHelll · 30/06/2026 13:58

lucya66 · 29/06/2026 12:10

I love a voice note from my friends.

Me too ! I play then to get me through hard chores or when I'm cooking or at work on lunch when I'm alone

Blondeshavemorefun · 30/06/2026 13:56

I waffle

I start off meaning to do a quick one

10mins later I’m still waffling 😂

CurdinHenry · 30/06/2026 13:54

SomehowItsMay · 30/06/2026 13:29

What an absolutely bizarre take on the situation. Clearly anyone who disagrees with you must be a 'lesser' person with deep character flaws and no friends. (And according to other posters, be old and whiney).

Very interesting how defensive some of the voice note senders are becoming.

Especially when the people who dislike the voice notes have unanimously conceded that they are fine if you have accessibility issues, and sending makes communication easier, and fine if both sender and receiver have mutually agreed.

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I'm not really a sender more a replier if someone else sensed them. It takes me back to childhood friendships.

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 30/06/2026 13:47

SomehowItsMay · 30/06/2026 13:29

What an absolutely bizarre take on the situation. Clearly anyone who disagrees with you must be a 'lesser' person with deep character flaws and no friends. (And according to other posters, be old and whiney).

Very interesting how defensive some of the voice note senders are becoming.

Especially when the people who dislike the voice notes have unanimously conceded that they are fine if you have accessibility issues, and sending makes communication easier, and fine if both sender and receiver have mutually agreed.

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Not to mention that phone calls don't usually involve someone monologuing at you, unlike voice notes.

Original poster

SomehowItsMay · 30/06/2026 13:29

CurdinHenry · 29/06/2026 21:05

I wonder if women who hate them didn't have many friends as kids - they remind me of those long telephone calls that used to drive parents mad as we hogged the telephone line

Edited

What an absolutely bizarre take on the situation. Clearly anyone who disagrees with you must be a 'lesser' person with deep character flaws and no friends. (And according to other posters, be old and whiney).

Very interesting how defensive some of the voice note senders are becoming.

Especially when the people who dislike the voice notes have unanimously conceded that they are fine if you have accessibility issues, and sending makes communication easier, and fine if both sender and receiver have mutually agreed.

OP posts:

ParadisePhantom · 29/06/2026 23:33

As someone who can struggle with the tone of written words especially in text messages I love a voice note. The extra vocal inflection you can get in a voice message massively helps my understanding.

EmpressaurusKitty · 29/06/2026 22:50

If I’m out when I get one, I text back to say I won’t be able to listen until later so please text if there’s anything important. Then listen when I can.

My mum sent me a few, when she was struggling to text. Now she’s dead, I cherish them.

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 29/06/2026 22:46

People who leave voice notes, does the 80% YANBU make you reconsider?

It reminds me of finding out via MN that most people detest wind chimes. I like them and would have put them up without thinking it might drive my neighbours potty, but now I never would.

relaxitsok · 29/06/2026 22:40

I love them with certain friends. I listen to them and record them in the car. With other friends I don’t, and one friend who told me ‘I’m not listening to that!!’, I never did it to her again!

There are some fairly formal group chats where people do it and I find it really inappropriate.

TheCurious0range · 29/06/2026 22:25

Right now for example I am in bed with DH browsing MN, I could just as easily be texting. I wouldn't start playing voice notes.

TheCurious0range · 29/06/2026 22:23

Chocolattecoffeecup · 29/06/2026 22:07

I think it's the opposite of egocentric. If anything, it's more considerate of the other person's time. Instead of calling and expecting that person to speak to you because you're free, you record a voice note and the other person can listen to it and respond at their own convenience.

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It's not convenient for me to have to find somewhere quiet and take time out to listen to someone monologue at me. I enjoy social interaction and you get that from a phone call, you also get immediate response, laughter, tone shift, gasps, in the moment reactions, follow up questions etc. Conversation isn't as stilted or formulaic as you talk for 3 minutes, I talk back for the minutes. If you just have info to relay, text and I'll read it when I can. I can read much faster than you can speak.

AgnesMcDoo · 29/06/2026 22:12

I love them - sending and receiving

i don’t know what’s wrong with lazy

Housewife2010 · 29/06/2026 22:07

DollydaydreamTheThird · 29/06/2026 22:04

Fair point! I'd just have to say can you call me instead....although I'm a bit phone phobic. I prefer knowing when someone is going to call rather than a random phone call. Don't put me as your ICE as you'd be dead before I answer an unsolicited phone call. ,🤣🤣🤭

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Yes, on the rare occasion my phone actually rings, I tend to look at it in surprise wondering if I should actually answer it!

Chocolattecoffeecup · 29/06/2026 22:07

TheCurious0range · 29/06/2026 16:12

I hate them. It's very ego centric. Either call me and we can have a conversation, you know two way reciprocal communication or text me, so I can read it quickly when I have a second that is convenient. I don't want to find a quiet space and sit for 6 minutes listening to someone ramble on. I was on a train recently and there was a woman listening to voice notes out loud then recording voice notes back, bloody call each other!

I think it's the opposite of egocentric. If anything, it's more considerate of the other person's time. Instead of calling and expecting that person to speak to you because you're free, you record a voice note and the other person can listen to it and respond at their own convenience.

DollydaydreamTheThird · 29/06/2026 22:04

Housewife2010 · 29/06/2026 21:40

But then I'd have to sit for the 30 minutes to listen to the waffle podcast & be ready to reply. I tend to listen to it whilst I'm doing something else like driving or cooking.

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Fair point! I'd just have to say can you call me instead....although I'm a bit phone phobic. I prefer knowing when someone is going to call rather than a random phone call. Don't put me as your ICE as you'd be dead before I answer an unsolicited phone call. ,🤣🤣🤭

Housewife2010 · 29/06/2026 21:40

DollydaydreamTheThird · 29/06/2026 21:15

You can type comments as you listen to it. 30 mins is excessive though 😯. I use them with some friends but I know others that hate them.

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But then I'd have to sit for the 30 minutes to listen to the waffle podcast & be ready to reply. I tend to listen to it whilst I'm doing something else like driving or cooking.

ProfessorofCunning · 29/06/2026 21:34

I can’t bear them. I had a small group of friends that have now left me behind as I wouldn’t participate. These are women in their 40s and 50s. I lost the thread of conversations when we met up, and missed inside jokes. It makes me sad as I didn’t have many friends to start with.
I’ve always hated answerphones and voicemails, so it’s not just voice notes I have an issue with.

CurdinHenry · 29/06/2026 21:33

Heyheyitsanotherday · 29/06/2026 21:25

Love a friend podcast. Keeps me company on my commute. I reply on my walk to the office 🤣 close friend only though

Friend podcast is exactly it

I think haters are joyless