In the era of one-way communication,
there are almost no press conferences
because officials express themselves through X. They also do not need an official information agency.
At the domestic level it is not very different.
Voice messages (what we commonly call “audios”) have unlocked
a new level of soliloquies.
Without the time limit that the answering machine used to impose, which directly sent a peep when we crossed the line, the audios have become, for many, a headache.
They make others angry.
When did we start to consider that if a friend calls you on the phone without prior consultation,
they are invading your privacy
?
If that were the case I wouldn't be such a friend.
And in any case, thanks to technology we can see who is trying to communicate and not answer if it is not the right time.
Reality indicates that when the cell phone rings unexpectedly, it is a promotion or a survey.
You are very young, but there was a time when hearing the ringing of the landline phone
allowed you to fantasize
that the person of your dreams was on the other end.
But back to the “voice notes”.
Days ago, a user of the little bird network said: “I said hello to my old lady.
He started recording audio at 6:43 p.m.
It's 18.52 and continues.
I hope it's nothing serious".
My mother is no longer here, but I have contacts who record
six or seven minute audios
for me while, you can tell, they are doing something else.
With audios, we only know what it is about when we press "play".
I then receive a kind of
personalized podcast
of any imaginable length, whose subject I don't know until I press play.
And in which I literally cannot put any sandwiches, nor express opinion or empathy.
In the United States, the issue was debated in the media.
Etiquette expert Elaine Swann said voice memos
should not be used for long monologues.
Another article recently claimed that audio messages were “indulgent” and could
“encourage selfishness
. ”
A headline in The Spectator described its ubiquity as “tyranny.”
Sherry Turkle, a psychologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, observed that people feel less vulnerable
in voice notes
because no disagreements or unexpected questions can arise.
There are even “self-edited” audios, which are listened to before the “send” to make sure you say exactly what you want.
Zero spontaneity.
Going into the statistics, Australian researchers found that 87% of respondents aged 18 to 26 prefer to handle unpleasant dialogue via text message;
and that
49% say that phone calls make them anxious.
For my part, I don't think it's a generational issue.
Family, friends and acquaintances of all ages
are increasingly turning to audio.
Nobody doubts that they are an advantage on some occasions.
But whenever possible, it is better to talk.