It's a late Sunday night and you haven't done your five page essay that's due first thing in the morning tomorrow. Maybe you went to a party, caught up on the show your friends have been telling you to watch, or just slept, trying to make up for the lost time spent on homework that week before. But you have a question on the format or how many words you need, cause even without the internet, Mrs. Solowski (or some other unfortunately named teacher) is going to count each one by hand. So you hit up your friend through text in all caps, "NEED HELP ASAP". One minute goes by with you staring at the clock, two minutes, three minutes, silently praying your friend will answer, and Billy Bob Joe over there is just sleeping his night away cause he was actually responsible and did his essay two weeks ago. As you make empty promises to do your homework on time from now on, you wish for anything that Billy would just wake up from his nap. Here's where the calling part comes in.
So right now you're either probably thinking "Call? Hah! I would never call", or "I would have just called in the first place." Chances are, that the majority of you would have thought the first one. But, the matter of the fact is that I actually prefer calling over texting. I know, crazy right? It's just I like the immediate reaction from the person I'm talking to. Whether it's me asking a question for a very much procrastinated assignment or just catching up with an old friend, it's nice to have that quick answer or response. Gone are the days of anticipation from seeing that moving "..." or "Billy Bob Joe is typing...". All joking aside, in a world where everyone is becoming more accustomed to easy, quick, fast, I feel as if texting is a step back. But then again, if the person won't answer, shoot them a text cause no one listens to voicemail.
Another reason why calling is my preferred choice of communicating is that there is a better connection between you and that person. Everyone knows about the dreaded "I'm fine" whether they've ever been in a relationship or not. Through text it's harder to discern if they're actually fine or just avoiding it, and if you keep calling them out on it, (when they actually are okay) they get annoyed. But if you guys talk in real time, then it's easier to listen if that person is happy, disappointed, sad, or angry, which is a lot easier than guessing through words on a screen miles away from the actual person you're talking to.
Okay, okay... I get that sometimes you just don't want to talk to anyone. Not because you're angry or depressed, you just had a really long day and are tired from all the noise coming from bosses, coworkers, friends, or family. I get those days all the time, believe me. And when I hear that dreaded "ding", I cry inside because I don't even want to text. But I get up, and retrieve my phone because maybe, just maybe, my friend sent me a cute cat video to help me unwind or a compilation of trampoline fails. But it ends up being a question about an essay they procrastinated on (heh, full circle). If they ask me to call, I'd do it, but I would rather text in that situation. And that's totally okay.
Even though there is probably some study that suggests calling rather than texting creates a chemical reaction in your brain that produces oxytocin, strengthening the relationship between you and that other person, I'm not going to go into that. However, I just prefer listening to other people's voices because it has a more human aspect to it. Living in a society where everyone has lost that small-town feel because of racism, politics, etc., I've found talking on the phone provides me with something that's a glimpse of what it was like "back in the day".
