My motherhas always been, and still is, a phone talker.
The text, which has taken top billing against my will, reigns supreme.
I call my mom when I need serious advice but also when I just want to chat.
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We recently had a delightful 30-minute conversation devoted entirely tothe virtues of dry shampoo.
So I decided to spend a week putting the iPhone to my ear.
Heres what I learned.
Calling someone on the phone that you have a text message-only relationship with can trigger an emergency response.
Last year, my 17-year-old niece texted to ask if she could call me in 10 minutes.
Should there be a legitimate reason for a chatlike a meeting or sudden illness?
And apparently, the voicemail is dying a slow death, too.
The first two minutes of a phone conversation with someone whos not your own mother feel awkward.
But once you get that whole why-the-hell-are-you-calling-me thing out of the way, its like riding a bike.
But once we moved past the weirdsies, it was smooth sailing, and the conversations flowed naturally.
Id often get on the horn with a friend and wed chat for an hour-plus.
But thats because it felt so great to connect with each others human voice.
In a world where were obsessed with multitasking (guilty!
), walking and talking was a better combo than scrolling through Facebook or glancing at my email mid-convo.
And devoting my full attention felt more authentic to the person on the other end of the line.
I kicked off the experiment with a call to my best friend, Jona, of 33 years.
Shes the kind of friend that always picks up.
Is it me or would most people let this go to voicemail?
It was the highlight of my dayor even my week.
giving me a quick update on her life.
While chatting shoptalk with a fellow freelancer, Kara, she sang the praises of phone calls.
In fact, she now regularly picks up the phone and talks to her friends.
Im calling it: Calling is coming back.