Smart Phone | For or against telephone conversations?

A call to testify on social networks has unleashed passions! Our relationship with phone calls is not just a question of generation, although we find that older people prefer to talk on the phone, while younger people do not. It is also a question of time and efficiency in communication.

For the love of the phone

Pascale Huberty, 55, loves talking on the phone. “It’s a real pleasure, but I don’t dare call my friends anymore. It’s crazy, we’ve lost spontaneity, it no longer exists! What a shame it has come to this. We no longer ring people’s bells either, you have to plan everything and ask permission before calling. Really ? Are we there? It’s sad. My teenage memories are linked to long conversations on the phone for two hours, I loved that! »

Laetitia Jallais, 39, talks less on the phone, but she misses it. “I like hearing the sound of people’s voices, talking, laughing. People are surprised when their phone rings, it almost scares them! A number I don’t know? Oh ! I won’t answer! But what if it ever matters? »

“We can no longer reach anyone and it gets on my nerves, because no one answers their phone anymore,” says Dominique Bertrand. ” My daughter [34 ans], I call her, she doesn’t answer me and it’s driving me crazy! She recognizes my number, it says Mom on her screen when I call! » She remembers her mother and aunt spending hours on the phone. “On the phone you can say so much, I still talk on the phone with my friends and I love it, and it’s sad to know that we don’t talk anymore, because that’s the reality, it’s that we don’t talk to each other at all anymore. It’s a shame, because the sound of a voice is warm. »

Phone intrusion

“A call is inherently intrusive. We’re always doing something when we get a call. If we set up an appointment, then we can talk on the phone, but otherwise, I prefer texting, because we can respond when we are available,” says Bertrand Lucas, 44, father of three children.

The ringing of the phone gives host Émilie Fournier anxiety. She prefers to receive a text “Are you free for a call?” “.

Véronique, mother of two teenagers, thinks that the telephone is distressing, because she feels that she does not have time to talk. “It’s intrusive, we have other means of communication today, it’s never the right time and I don’t have time for the phone. We have a fast pace of life, I have meetings, Zoom, emails, text messages. I communicate with my children by texting and FaceTime. »

“I never answer the phone unless it’s my children or my partner,” writes new technology specialist Bruno Guglielminetti. An opinion shared by many people we spoke to. If a number from the address book is not displayed, the phone will not be answered.

A useful communication tool

Jeanne Brabant, 23, estimates that among all the functions of her smartphone, talking using applications (FaceTime) corresponds to 8% of its use. “I communicate with my friends mostly by text, or via voice messages by Messenger, Instagram, FaceTime. Calls will be on FaceTime, For example. Often, with my friends, we start by texting each other. If we have to write several lines and we consider that it is too long, we will send a voice message. And if after five voice messages it’s not enough, we call each other via an application. »

Stéphanie Beauregard notes that she talks a lot less on the phone, but that it remains an important tool. “Hospital calls? If you don’t answer it, it’s impossible to reach them, so I answer the phone. There are those who dictate how you should communicate with them! They tell you: I don’t answer the phone, nor on Messenger nor on LinkedIn, so text me! And we must adapt and respond in the same way! I think the phone is now reserved for family and good friends. »

Read “Smartphone: Useful for everything except calling!” »