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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think voice clips should be banned?

171 replies

scegliere · 16/05/2022 22:03

I'm not talking about voicemail. I have nothing against a short message to say that you tried to call, give details on when would be good to call back, etc etc.

I'm talking about the voice clips you can record on Whatsapp, messenger and so on. Maybe it's just my circle, but some of my friends will leave about 10x1 minute voice clips. In order to listen to them, I need to have a quiet, private space, time to listen to them all, and some way to note down everything they've said because by the time I've got to the last one I can't remember what was said in the earlier ones. With a text, you can just read back to make sure you've replied to everything they've said. If you need to reply a little later, you have to relisten to the whole thing again. Voice clips only benefit the sender, not the receiver.

They were a good idea to try out, but now we've seen how insanely annoying they are, it's time for them to be treated as a failed experiment.

OP posts:
CrapBucket · 17/05/2022 06:20

Currently I hate them but there must be a reason they are so popular. My friends and colleagues in Brazil, Greece and Italy use them a lot and I have weaned them off that with me, saying 'I don't have capacity to listen to voice notes but feel free to message me if you need anything '.

CoalCraft · 17/05/2022 06:21

To the person who asked if this is a millennial thing, I'm 27 and have never sent not received one, nor heard of anyone else in my circle using them. I'm not completely sure what they are. They do sound annoying.

The people harping at OP for not considering people with disabilities or being OTT are missing the tone of the thread. I'm sure OP doesn't really want them banned and has no issue with them being used by people who find written communication difficult for whatever reason, she just wants to stop/reduce their use in her particular circle.

SpringIntoChaos · 17/05/2022 06:37

Good lord...is the hatred of voice notes on MN the equivalent of someone having the audacity to knocking on your front door without messaging first?

My mind boggles. It's just communication...another form of communication! What is wrong with you all?? 🤦‍♀️

KittyWindbag · 17/05/2022 06:41

I used to hate them too, then I got friends with a woman who only communicated via them and I sometimes enjoyed listening to her musings while I was on the train. She died from cancer and I’m so glad I had voice notes afterwards and now I think often that it’s nice to have these records of loved ones voices and random thoughts.

KittyWindbag · 17/05/2022 06:43

I prefer them to live phone calls haha! Apparently that’s a millennial thing.

easylikeasundaymorning · 17/05/2022 06:47

I love them. Not all my friends do it but sometimes it's much easier to send a voice note than typing out a whole big message. Means you can both be doing stuff whilst recording/listening although appreciate it can be tricky if you're at work.

Wouldn't do it with colleagues though.

AnImaginaryCat · 17/05/2022 06:51

SpringIntoChaos · 17/05/2022 06:37

Good lord...is the hatred of voice notes on MN the equivalent of someone having the audacity to knocking on your front door without messaging first?

My mind boggles. It's just communication...another form of communication! What is wrong with you all?? 🤦‍♀️

Exactly what I was thinking. MN is a real eye opener to how judgmental people can be over the most inane things.

Can't figure out if it comes from an over blown sense of importance or it's an insecurity about themselves.

AffIt · 17/05/2022 06:52

@ImInStealthMode

20 minutes is a podcast not a voice note

This made me laugh, because I have a friend who does EXACTLY this. 😄

I can just about tolerate a 30-second 'running late, see you soon'-type voice clip (although I'll always prefer a text or message), but yes, the 20-minute Joycean stream of consciousness rambles do my head in.

lassof · 17/05/2022 06:53

It's like people don't understand what the mic on their keyboard does - if you don't like typing, then dictate your message! Don't force people to have to listen to you ... with no 'skim read' option ... while you drone on.
Op, I agree
Luckily the power is with you. Just leave them unread.
Or, the passive aggressive approach, return each message with your own, longer, voice message. Add 1 minute, or a factor, to theirs. Make it totally rambling and pointless

stilldumdedumming · 17/05/2022 06:59

I have a17 year old. This is how they communicate- you're watching telly and suddenly you hear this low murmuring that goes on for hours back and forth! I use them a bit tho - it's fun and you don't need to look at the screen after a long day at work (you do still look at the screen with dictation btw)

garlicandsapphires · 17/05/2022 07:01

I love them

BendingSpoons · 17/05/2022 07:05

I'm in my 30s and was introduced to them by FIL in his 70s. They annoyed me at first but I like them now. However I only use them with family and not for information you need to remember. It's either me having a bit of a conversation with the kids whilst at work where they tell me their news and I reply when I can or mundane info to my DH e.g. telling him my arrival time from work, thoughts on what to cook for dinner etc. I don't send them if it's key info that needs reading quickly. So basically we have lots of British etiquette around them!

mnnewbie111 · 17/05/2022 07:08

Some of these words 😂😂😂 despicable, detest, selfish, horrendous! Honestly you guys need to lighten up. Competition to see who hates voice notes the most? Well you all win but should try not to get so wound up about such trivial things IMO

linerforlife · 17/05/2022 07:09

I use them loads but only with people who like using them too, and actually it's really strengthened my relationships with those people. It means I can whack my AirPods in while walking the dog at 6am for example and listen to their messages and reply while walking along. They also work brilliantly with my friend who emigrated to Australia - we would rarely be able to speak on the phone because of the time difference.

mnnewbie111 · 17/05/2022 07:10

SpringIntoChaos · 17/05/2022 06:37

Good lord...is the hatred of voice notes on MN the equivalent of someone having the audacity to knocking on your front door without messaging first?

My mind boggles. It's just communication...another form of communication! What is wrong with you all?? 🤦‍♀️

Weird isn't it

SpiderinaWingMirror · 17/05/2022 07:14

Only my sister does this in my circle. I get a whole list of her woes then a goodbye.

Butitsnotfunnyisititsserious · 17/05/2022 07:19

SpringIntoChaos · 17/05/2022 06:37

Good lord...is the hatred of voice notes on MN the equivalent of someone having the audacity to knocking on your front door without messaging first?

My mind boggles. It's just communication...another form of communication! What is wrong with you all?? 🤦‍♀️

Crazy isn't it. It's like posters compete for who hates them the most with the words they use 😂 Some people find them easier than a regular text. Doesn't bother me if I receive one, if I can't listen at that time, then I'll say that.

LolaLouLou · 17/05/2022 07:20

My PIL live in another country with a high rate of illiteracy. In this situation, voice notes are very handy. Also nice for my DS to send voice notes to PILs and vice versa. More natural than trying to get my DS to engage on a video call.

Agree long voice notes are annoying.

Fossiltop · 17/05/2022 07:23

For some of us with dyspraxia and visual processing issues, voice clips are a hell of a lot easier than typing!

Indicatrice · 17/05/2022 07:23

YABU, not everyone is comfortable with typing.

Surely you can just get the gist of a message and respond to that, OP?

Moomeh · 17/05/2022 07:24

Yanbu! Of course excepting any specific needs it is selfish and lazy. Typing a message is slower than leaving a voice note but reading one is much quicker than listening. (Especially if the voice note is peppered with "not now DC I'm just on the phone"). So it's basically saving yourself time while wasting the listener's.

I have two friends who leave them, and one of them is a sahm with 1 DC and so has more time in the day. I can't easily put headphones in when I'm glancing at my texts at work, and I don't like to divide my attention when I'm with my dc by putting a voice note on. She leaves 6-8min ones.

Anyway I've retaliated by leaving long ones in return and that's stemmed the flow a bit

AlternativePerspective · 17/05/2022 07:26

I only ever tried dictating a message once. By the time I’d corrected all the errors I might as well have just written the bloody thing.

A lot of my friends who use voiceover dictate because they find typing with the on-screen keyboard challenging. And their messages are usually full of typos and lacking in any decent punctuation.

If you can talk into a microphone to dictate then you can talk into a microphone to send a more coherent voice message.

Incidentally, when I’m at home I write on a bluetooth keyboard, so you either get a voice clip or an essay, take yer pick. 😀

lassof · 17/05/2022 07:29

Weird. My dictation button on a google phone works pretty much perfectly. Speak ... it writes. Job done. Was this 'back in the day' when things were new?

BarbaraofSeville · 17/05/2022 07:30

Sounds like people are going on too long. The clue is in the name - clip, ie short and to the point.

Perfectly fine for 'I''m running late, see you in an hour' or 'can you pick up eggs on the way home' but not 5/10/20 minutes stream of conciousness outpourings.

bumblingbovine49 · 17/05/2022 07:31

I really have heard it all now 😂

Use earphone to listen to them and if it is too boring and long to listen to stop listening. If you don't have earphones with you then listen when you do. You don't need to listen immediately you know

If you need to make notes in order to reply and can't be bothered then don't reply to anything except the thing you remember or don't reply at all

I really have no problem with a spoken message . I have seen so many people on here complain about being called as they might actually have to speak to someone. Now people don't actually want to have to listen to the spoken word either.

Sigh I really am getting very very old