“Hey! Sorry, I was in a meeting. What’s up?” I typed frantically on the keypad.
Wanna know a little secret?
I wasn’t in a meeting.
I was at home, watching a re-run of Breaking Bad.
And eating some leftover rajma-chawal.
So in a nutshell, I wasn’t even remotely busy.
And yet, I waited patiently for my phone to stop ringing. No, the call wasn’t from someone I didn’t like. It was in-fact from one of my closest friends. And yet I lied to her.
Simply because I…
Hate…
Talking on the phone. There, I said it.
I’m not an introvert.
I’m not anti-social.
I’m not arrogant or temperamental.
It’s just that I find the entire act of talking on the phone very constricting. The act of gauging someone’s temperament at that particular moment solely by the tone of their voice seems like too much of a task.
Moreover, you’re stuck for a fixed amount of time. Once you commit to a call, you’re bound to honour its duration. Unless, you’re a pro at making excuses (yeah, I suck at that as well).
And to top it all, there’s a high probability of the phone getting disconnected at the most crucial juncture in the conversation. “Hello,” you say trying to act normal. “Awaaz aa rahi hai? Hello?”
But deep in your heart you know the phone has been disconnected. Which means, that you must call back the person and pick up from where you’d left and act as if nothing happened.
You know how embarrassing that is?
That’s why, it’s either talking in person or texting for me.
“But one cannot always talk in person! And what if it’s urgent? We can’t possibly wait for a text message,” you say.
And you’re right.
I don’t have a problem calling someone up if it’s super urgent. Because then, you can always come straight to the point and then put the phone down. Unlike a casual talk where putting the phone down is a Herculean task.
Especially when people from the other end are constantly building up pressure with their “Aur suna, kya chal raha hai”.
When it comes to text messaging, you can answer people at your own will. You can frame your thoughts better ’cause you don’t feel like you’re sitting for a VIVA.
Even if you’re saying something sarcastic or mean, you can always add an emoji at the end and just get away with it.
This one, preferably:
Or maybe this:
Gettin’ what I’m saying?
Add to that the fact that texting is way cheaper, and you have a clear winner here.
All said and done, it’s your choice at the end of the day. If you feel comfortable running around with your phone as it rings trying to find a secluded spot where you can get some privacy, then go for it.
Or you can just opt for texting where you can actually ‘say’ whatever you want, no matter where you’re sitting.
It’s your ‘call’.