Voicemail. Ugh. It’s so 90’s. It’s so out of style. It’s so slow. Right?
I’m glad I’m not alone in this. An NYTimes article backed me up on this and reported that many find Voicemail to be going the way of the dinosaur:
But in an age of instant information gratification, the burden of having to hit the playback button — or worse, dial in to a mailbox and enter a pass code — and sit through “ums” and “ahs” can seem too much to bear.
It’s so true. I’ll admit it. I hit the “Delete” button almost always before the message is done; I’d much rather call them back right then and get the scoop.
Or, I’ll text them back. Or, you know what… I’ll email them back… or, for some people, I’ll actually use Twitter because I know that they are much more responsive that way.
Perhaps it’s all context and who you’re dealing with, but I think, generally speaking, voicemail is going byebye and I won’t miss it:
Research shows that people take longer to reply to voice messages than other types of communication.
Data from uReach Technologies, which operates the voice messaging systems of Verizon Wireless and other cellphone carriers, shows that over 30 percent of voice messages linger unheard for three days or longer and that more than 20 percent of people with messages in their mailboxes “rarely even dial in” to check them, said Saul Einbinder, senior vice president for marketing and business development for uReach, in an e-mail message.
By contrast, 91 percent of people under 30 respond to text messages within an hour, and they are four times more likely to respond to texts than to voice messages within minutes, according to a 2008 study for Sprint conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation. Even adults 30 and older are twice as likely to respond within minutes to a text than to a voice message, the study found.
I can believe that. But perhaps one of the things that really resounded with me was the fact that this movement is being driven by “young people,” which makes sense; they are the trendsetters and are more likely to use the newer technology for communication.
This has a direct parallel to the online space as well, and even the Church, as the younger generation are looking at technology as a medium for creatively communicating the Gospel while the “older” generations are still “uncertain.”
But I think the tension felt is much more in the Church than perhaps the cellular phone market.
[Image from Micah]
danielle says
ohmygosh…i just spent 45min on wed. trying to deactivate my voicemail! i hate it! i couldn't get any help through verizon, though. when i move to att and the iphone, this problem will be solved. 😉
human3rror says
iphone ftw!!! let us know when you “upgrade”…!
Adam_S says
I am not that old (35) but it was younger friends of my wife that drove her to texting. She had rarely texted before last spring, but then lots of her work friends started texting her. It is now interesting that when one of them calls you know something is wrong or it is something very unusual. (They also teach in trailers at her school and use texting to communicate between the trailers.
I totally believe that people don't check their voicemail. My mother in law went 4 or 5 months without checking her voice mail because she didn't know how (and we didn't realize that she didn't know.)
Rich Schmidt says
I depend on voicemail for at least two reasons: (1) Lots of folks in my church don't have (or check) email, internet, or cell phones. Mostly this is the older crowd. (2) We don't have a church secretary or anything, so I depend on people leaving me a message when they call the church and I'm unavailable. Granted, they could email or text me… if they can. Many folks in our community (especially among the older or poorer segments) don't have that capability.
So while voicemail may be annoying, it's not something I could ditch anytime soon.
scottcrews says
I avoid checking voicemail.
I realized one month that my wife and I spent 75 of our monthly plan minutes that month checking voicemail. Ridiculous! I pay for service every month so I can talk on my cell phone to PEOPLE…not my voicemail.
So now I wait for the messages to collect and then listen to them that weekend when airtime is free. Haven't missed anything too important yet…
Graham Brenna says
I would def fall into the voicemail haters camp. I actually have a land line on my desk at work, only because I have to. I've made the phone not very accessible for me to get to. It's usually shoved behind one of my computer monitors or on top of my mini-fridge. My voicemail greeting on it actually gives out my cell phone number and asks people to either call that or send me an email. Seriously… the message light has been known to blink on that phone for over a week! I figure… I gave them other options and they still opted to leave me a voicemail.
Rich Schmidt says
And if they call your cell and you're unavailable… don't they leave you a voicemail? Or does your greeting on your cell tell them not to bother? 🙂
Graham Brenna says
haha… I'm more apt to check that voicemail because I don't like having message indicators on my home screen! 🙂 But I generally answer…
EpicFaith says
I stopped leaving voice messages because my friends would call me back and ask what I wanted. I asked them if they listened to their email and they said "No, I just saw that you called."
Ron_Tuffin says
Do you know how many times I have left a voice mail only to have the person call me back 2 mins later having seen my 'missed call' and not listening to the message?
human3rror says
yeah. a billion.
Brandon_Schmidt says
I think there is a big difference between work voicemail and cell phone voicemail. Most times there is a voicemail on my cell, I already know the message, since I know/am expecting the person calling me.
Work voicemail = great way to collect messages from people you don't know.
Cell voicemail = waste of time.
human3rror says
hmm. that's true perhaps.
scottcrews says
Right on, Brandon. Excellent point. So true.
Aaron says
Where is the study that reveals how many people you alienate by not utilizing voicemail?
As for myself, if I call you and you don’t answer, I’m more likely to leave you a voice message. I won’t hang up and text you back if I’ve already spent the dime for that first minute anyway.
human3rror says
haha. mine is typical.