People who send WhatsApp Voice Notes are the worst

[SomehowItsMay]

"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?

I don't mind whether my friends text or voice note me.I'm not going to exclude them on the basis of which one they choose, i'm not that entitled. If my friends don't want to listen to my voice notes, then I don't want to be friends with them. I don't get why people who hate voice notes think that their choice matters more than the message sender. If you don't want to listen to your friends message, then maybe just end the friendship

I hate them.
Writing something down forces you to organise your thoughts; a burbling brain dump of words does not.
I can read faster than I can listen, so I deeply resent having to listen to VNs.

I dont know why but I can only listen to voicenotes on loud speaker, there is no option to listen to it on the phone. I fucking hate them. Hate them

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

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.

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.

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. ,🤣🤣🤭

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.

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

I love them - sending and receiving

i don’t know what’s wrong with lazy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

I waffle

I start off meaning to do a quick one

10mins later I’m still waffling 😂

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

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

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

I do try not waffle too much on Mn

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