What’s your preferred mode of communication?

[Chirawehaha]

A friend and I were discussing how we have never - in 15 years of being friends - spoken on the phone. We video chatted during lockdown, but mostly just keep in contact via What’s App and meeting up in person. This is the case with most of my friends and family. Unless it was an
actual emergency, ringing someone wouldn’t even occur to me.

Talking about it at work and most of my office felt similarly. However, it’s a small office, so that’s only nine people. 🤣

What’s your preference? Calling? Texting/What’s App? Video chatting? Saving it up till you can meet face to face?

I am old school and just text. I don’t understand what advantage WhatsApp has over texting? Am I missing something? I only ever chat to people 1-2-1 so wouldn’t want to be in a group anything, but then I’m very introverted and don’t really have groups of friends!

I had someone relatively new I’d started speaking to the other day send me a voice message 😳😳😳 I was like 😱😱 I can’t stand them. They take ages to listen to and I read really fast so I’d rather just read a message. I messaged back - by text. I’m never going to do voice messages!

WhatsApp, Text or face to face in person. The older I get, the less I enjoy talking on the phone. I find it hard to concentrate when I can't see the person's expressions and body language.

WhatsApp is what I usually use but I read an NYT article, that said that traditional texting is making a comeback because you don’t feel the need to respond a quickly as you do on WhatsApp.
So I’ve slowly started using iMessage with some people and I like that you’re not expected to give a prompt reply.

Don’t call unless DH or emergency.

Never video Call

Voice notes are hell

Always send thank you notes and postcards

@Solgrass my teen DDs prefer text.

Why do people hate voice notes? They are so handy when you've got a lot you need to say quickly but don't want to pick up the phone! It takes me an age to text (arthritis) but only seconds to voice note.

Same. It used the be second nature to me, now I am slightly phobic of speaking on the phone.

Can’t work out whether WhatsApp has rewired my brain or whether it’s something about getting older and being too busy to face more time on the phone.

Whatsapp. Also hate talking on the phone (unless it's about business/an acquaintance/something official etc...)

Being on a phone call leave you glued to the phone, unable to do anything else. Whatsapping back and forth is much better.

Phone call.
Text.
Facebook messenger.
Email.
Letter writing.

That's my preference but I suppose text is the most popular method with everyone I know.

Because it takes you ages to listen to them. So much waffle and pauses and if you had a text you can just scan it quickly and done! Can’t stand the bloody things.

WhatsApp. Dm currently driving me nuts by being unable to pick one channel so conversations run over email, messenger and WhatsApp - one single conversation.

I hate them too but it’s a fair question because back in the day VM was absolutely normal but people just don’t have the patience any more.

I do think digital has changed the wiring a bit and made our attention spans much shorter.

Because I work full time in an open plan office, often on teams calls. Voice notes have to wait until I finish for the day but if it was written, I could quickly respond while I’m in a meeting (so long as I’m not presenting).

WhatsApp/ WhatsApp voice notes

@twentysevendresses Like you, I enjoy whatsapp voice notes. I love it when my daughters send them. It's no different to an answerphone message. Not sure why people loathe them so much.

I know I’m in the minority but I prefer phone calls!! I know it can be awkward as we’re all so rusty these days but I feel like it’s really regenerates my connections more than WhatsApp messages, for friends further away anyway
locslly for setting up plans texting is good but a call is also fab if it’s one to one, esp if not straightforward

Texting/messaging

Email. I love email. It's killing me that it's going out of fashion, and everyone wants to bloody text. I hate texting with a furious passion - don't mind receiving them so much, but I absolutely cannot stand writing* the blasted things. *writing ... otherwise known as painfully pecking out messages letter by letter, and getting it wrong half the time ... it makes my eyes and fingers hurt.

I used to love talking to friends on the phone, but I'm not keen on it now and I really don't know why. I loved it well into mature adulthood, too, so it wasn't just a teenage thing that died off for me.

I don't really know what WhatsApp is ... I've never seen it. People are always trying to get me onto it, but I resist.

What's app for my mom as she's deaf but calls for everyone else. It's so sad that the art of speaking on the phone is dying out

Voice notes, texts and in person

Yep, I love them! ❤️

WhatsApp
Real life
Email
Letter

Video call
Phone call

It depends on the message. Long conversations- f2f is best, followed by video call. Exchange of facts- WhatsApp or text, I don’t care which. But bloody reply within a couple of hours if you can. Especially don’t leave it on “read” for days. Voice note, never. It’s massively inconvenient to listen to them, and then you forget all the detail straight away. Stupid gimmick, and anyone over about 35 who uses them needs to have a word with themselves.

I speak to my sister most days on the phone. We are mid 50s

Everyone else: mostly WhatsApp (realising I could get in on my lap top had been a game changer as I can type way more quickly on a proper keyboard).

Voice notes - yawn. I don't think people plan what they're going to say as they do with a phone message.

Lots of emails but they tend to be longer and less frequent.

We do all our communication via this very organ - The Mumsnet!

The only rule is that we change our name every time we post to each other.

Consequently it can be a bit of a guessing game as to what is going on - but as you can imagine there have been some hilarious misunderstandings (one of which is sub-judice so I can't expand on, other than to say the both parties have now fully recovered and at least one of them can see the funny side of it, alas NOT the vicar 😚)

Apologies to any of you who may have received a bizarre, spurious message from me - it was probably meant for a personal friend or maybe a Court Official.😇

How do the people you’re sending voice notes feel about them? Have you ever asked?