Thank you to Yahoo! Mail for sponsoring this post about staying connected. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
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I have a phone disease.
It’s called No Telephone Skills-itus. And I have a severe case.
I hate calling people. I hate talking on the phone. It goes back a very long time, and I don’t know how or when it started. But the phone paralyzes me. I am guilty of not returning phone calls, or not picking up at all. If on the rare occasion you get me, you’ll probably have to suffer through one word answers and awkward silences. I have no phone etiquette.
The phone has always seemed foreign to me. It’s a thing… a weird thing that I hold up to my ear, and somehow a voice comes out- belonging supposedly to someone I know, but can’t see. I know, it’s like I’m a cave person. But I can’t help it. I have trouble having conversations through an inanimate object. It makes me feel weird. Like holding a shoe up to my ear.
I also now have a three year old who likes to head butt me whenever I’m trying to make or answer a call.
Forget about it.
When I got my first Yahoo! mail account in 1999, it was like a dream come true for me. It took me a while to get the hang of things, but once I did- whoa! I could communicate with friends, or my entirely long distance family at any time of day and not worry about disturbing them. I felt no pressure to answer questions on the spot, or “keep the conversation going”.
It didn’t seem foreign to me at all. It was like writing a letter and mailing it- only at lightning speed. I could write love letters to boyfriends and say things that would’ve felt way to cheesy on the phone. And then, eventually I could send pictures!
Email has saved me friendships. I am still in touch with people I probably never would’ve called over the years.
And I still have the same email address I had back in 1999. I’ll probably never change it. Phone numbers come and go, but I like knowing that a friend from a decade ago can perhaps find me because I still have the same email.
My affair is still hot and heavy with email. My husband gets jealous when I check it while we’re laying together on the couch. But I’m sure he appreciates the apology emails I’ve sent to him the day after an argument. I’m much more eloquent and romantic in an email when I have time to pick and choose my words.
I’ll never give it up.
For someone who’s socially awkward, and has a telephone disease, it’s a lifeline for me.
Besides, I receive no head butts from my three year old when I’m typing an email.
Email wins.
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Did you know you can view photo slide shows in the new Yahoo! mail? Also, did you know I am secretly a sap.
seriously. i have that too, but i have zero intention of ever curing it.
remember our first phone call? it was also our last.
i’m glad we’re both like this and don’t have to worry about offending each other.
xo
We shall forever be buddies who never call.
xoxo
I hate the phone too. I can’t stand talking on the phone, even with my husband when he’s away. SO yay to email!
Alison@Mama Wants This recently posted..Writers Workshop- 10 things
I’m the same way with my husband too! Yet he still keeps calling…
I’m with you 100% on this one. Hate the phone. Love the email. For the exact same reasons.
I’m an email .texter. In fact. I think I love texting even more than emailing. I used to be addicted tot he phone but I just don’t have time for it anymore. My girls turn into loud, dancing monkeys the moment they see the damn thing anywhere near me. It’s so much more trouble than its worth. Of course, I do still have to utilize it on occasion to stay in touch with the oldies. i.e. My parents and in laws. But for the most part,I;m all about email and texting but I do ever so enjoy a real life hug in person:) Coming your way this August, my friend!
Truthful Mommy recently posted..Jessica Gottlieb The Truth About Motherhood is that You Lie A lot
Can’t wait! And while we’re sitting next to each other at BlogHer, we can send each other emails. That would be awesome.
I also hate talking on the phone! The pressure! What if they ask me a question I don’t know the answer to!?
You know what is even worse? SKYPE! It’s like the phone only they can SEE HOW TERRIBLE AND TIRED AND UNSHOWERED I AM. Oh skype. I must be the only one in the world who doesn’t love it.
Farren recently posted..My Brilliant High-Maintenance Baby
I am not a Skype lover. It’s uneccessary to have to dress up to talk.
*fist bump*
Seriously. I had to put on mascara for a SKYPE INTERVIEW. That shit ain’t right.
Booooooooo! No Skype here either.
Yes! Email I can do naked… WINNER.
Yes! Socially awkward people unite! Email rocks! Except when I try to have confrontations via email. That doesn’t go so well usually.
Old School/New School Mom recently posted..A Morning in The Life Of
i hate talking on the phone. like despise it. any real friend i have knows to never ever call me.
Alexandria recently posted..12 things I could do before the world ends on Saturday
I use to bribe people to make calls for me… “If you call the pizza place, I will buy”… That is how much I hate the phone.
I am somewhat better now. Good thing, since I have to call people for work. Luckly I am helping them – so they are nice to me.
I wouldn’t call myself a hypochondriac, but I knew as soon as you said “No Telephone Skill-itus” that I had that condition too.
Dre recently posted..Why I Love My Job
Apparently, it’s more common than people think. I’m surprised I haven’t seen anything on 20/20 about it.
Xoxo
Gah how I hate talking on the phone. And I do remember my first account in 1999 with Yahoo and how awesome I thought it was. Of course it incorporated my sorority name. Because I was young and dumb like that. I can’t even count how many email addresses I’ve had since then but MAN how I love email. A lot.
Jess@StraightTalk recently posted..Killer
i am SO with you on this. i HATE talking on the phone. there’s a whole timing thing that i cannot grasp when it comes to talking on the telephone, i usually end up sounding like a rambling idiot, AND my voice changes slightly so i start to sound like a boy who’s just hit puberty. it is NOT pleasant for me.
email is SO MUCH BETTER.
of course, i’m lazy about it. i let things sit in my box for weeks …
c.c. recently posted..g is for giving