To not answer video calls/FaceTime calls?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

I hate answering actual phone calls let alone the ones where we are actually looking at each other's faces.

It all just feels like so much effort. Text me or whatsapp me.

Don't bloody FaceTime me. I'll ignore it anyways.

I video call with my brother or parents quite regularly because they live far away and dont get to see DD much.

If it was anyone else I would feel uncomfortable and wouldn't answer

I'm not self conscious about it. I just don't get it. Why do it? It's fucking awkward.

But why is it awkward? My friends and I FT each other all the time, and it's really no different to speaking to someone face to face. I'd argue that calls are more awkward because it's like speaking to someone with a door between you two.

I’d only FT/video call with close friends/family so I wouldn’t find it awkward because I feel comfortable with those people. Acquantices/work colleagues etc wouldn’t video call me so it’s not an issue.

I have a close friend living in Mexico and family living in New Zealand so it’s a really nice way to stay in touch, seeing their faces/reactions when we talk makes the distance between us feel smaller.

Dd is always Facetiming friends: I assumed it was just something teenagers do. It never crossed my mind that adults do it too. Thank fuck none of my friends do. I don't really like chatting on the phone (prefer to text) but would absolutely hate video calls.

I go out the room if someone else is doing it and I have been known to point the phone at the ceiling if someone calls me.

I hate it, all my friends and family hate it and my ex used to do it as a control/ power thing trying to make me feel bad about hating it. Guess he really liked my ceiling...

Turn it off in Settings.

YANBU. One of my SiLs does it all the time, I just don’t pick up. As others have said, it feels very intrusive when you’re just minding your own business to suddenly have to entertain someone else. Bad enough having to speak to people, I much prefer to send messages.
Most people feel the same these days- I carried out a survey of a couple of hundred people for work recently, and a huge proportion said they’d much rather use webchat than call, and they’d not bother making contact at all if videochat was the only option. I think there’s so much contact and expectation of contact now that people find it stressful and exhausting and go for the most distant method.

We only really do it to facilitate calls between DC and their grandparents. Have had to give up on my parents though because my mum can't ever hear it so we ene up with a lot of close up of her ear.

But I don't understand how people find just someone trying to call you that way intrusive. Unless they are calling incessantly for hours on end it's just a request that are making, not a demand.

I assume that those of you who won't answer the phone don't work?

I assume that those of you who won't answer the phone don't work?

That's a strange assumption. How does choosing not to answer video calls from friends and family equate to not working? Work calls are in a different category for most people, surely.

Turning off FaceTime doesn’t interfere with phone calls.

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests video calling works in a similar way as in-person socialising to stave off dementia.

@Magissa - haha same re: the untidy room. I tend to escape to the bathroom...

I was just referring to those who don't answer the phone. Facetime/Skype I totally understand. Apart from the fact that I look like a dog's dinner most of the time, the sound and video quality is rubbish.

”There is a growing body of evidence that suggests video calling works in a similar way as in-person socialising to stave off dementia.”

Link?

There was me thinking I was such an unsociable person. Really annoys me when I message someone a question and then the call back. Could they not just get the hint if I message them, they should just message back. 😡

I don’t answer my phone at all most of the time and I hate video calling. The only person I ever video call with is my daughter if we’re apart at night. YANBU.

I use the phone for work calls when I’m in work. That’s enough phone time.

I hate it and it also drains my phone’s battery.

However my brother really likes it and because he’s on the other side of the world he likes to really feel part of the conversation and as if he was there with us.

So I dislike it but can see the other side of the story. But this battery drain is my ace card and happens to be true.

I love chatting on the phone and I don't mind people turning up at my house unannounced. Seeing someone when they're physically in the room with you feels natural.

The problem I have with videocalling unannounced is that in my case the majority of the time the person doing it to me is only doing it because they want to see my baby. They think that it's a good alternative to actually visiting in person. But what they're actually doing is either taking my attention away from baby when he needs a cuddle/feed/etc (because unlike a normal call that you can switch to answer phone and plonk on a surface, you actually have to either hold it up or faff about getting it into a good position). If he's in a good mood he stops playing and starts staring at the phone while they're all screaming his name at him, and doesn't have a clue what he's looking at. They think they're seeing him in his own natural environment but it's anything but.

It feels intrusive and ruins the momentum of your day in a way that a physical visit or a regular phone call doesn't.

Mstilda a basic phone call shouldn't drain the battery that much. I find the biggest drain is when I use my phone as a sat nav.

I never answer. I just say it’s not working and to call me instead.

I hate it too. Doesn’t help that the front facing camera makes me look like Jabba the Hutt. Whoever is calling me is probably terrified when I answer!

I find it really intrusive and I'm very happy chatting on a normal phone call. Plus I have a v good friend who does it who lives in a hot country with a significant time difference. I i'm generally not long since woken up and am all bleary eyed with face creases /. I make up. She'll be looking totally gorgeous all made up in the lovely bright sunshine. I love her but I have my limits. It's a shame when the 'connection is weak' sometimes and I have to just call her back instead

My sister, mother and I FaceTime randomly a lot - maybe 2/3 times a day...

It's great!

I assume that those of you who won't answer the phone don't work?

I work FT. What a silly presumption.