Why I am not a huge fan of video calls

 

That feeling you get when you hear your doorbell ring as you just sit down to have dinner or to watch your favourite TV show,  when you are not expecting anyone, is exactly how I feel when my phone rings and it’s a video call from someone who I wasn’t expecting to talk to or just do not want to see.

I am not what you can call a shy person, actually I am a talkative, bubbly woman who loves to laugh and be around people but I do not like unplanned video calls as I find them so intrusive and I do not like them for the following reasons;

  • I have to be dressed appropriately

I don’t want you to see me while I am dressed in my pyjamas, in my lingerie or even in my birthday suit.

I don’t want you to see me wrapped in my towel coming out of the shower or getting dressed.

Sure, you say you don’t mind, but I do.

  • I don’t want to see you

There are days when I do not want to see anyone, honestly – I have ugly days or grumpy days and I am just happy to talk on the phone.

There are days when I could be having guests, and I cannot be on a video call.

I could be driving or out out and about,  FaceTime calls automatically activate the loudspeaker, I don’t want people hearing my conversations.

Please do not call me while you are doing your errands and you just want someone online to keep you company while you unpick your braids or doing your ironing.

Oh, and please hang up when you go to the bathroom! What is it that you want to say that can’t wait?

  • I can’t multi task

I like to cook or bake or generally do stuff in my house, I don’t want to be on a video call while I do those things.

Seriously, if I want company, I will invite you over or arrange time mutual for us to meet.

Please don’t say it’s OK to chat while I am having my dinner. It’s not good manners, and I don’t want you to watch me eating.

  • I love meeting face to face

My experience with video calling is that the more people I video chat with, the less we make time to catch up, have a meal or just a coffee. There is no point in visiting each other as you can sit under a blanket and talk about how cold it is outside or how unfair it was that so and so has been knocked out of Strictly Come dancing.

If you video call me when I am washing my dishes – you are in my house, you are in my bedroom when I am packing my shelves and  tidying up and when I am just having down time. There are people I can not allow in my private space and video calling make it quite intrusive.

I know video calls are here to stay. The vast majority of the general population has a smart phone.  FaceTime, WhatsApp, Line, Viber, Tango, Facebook, Skype and Hangouts, to name a few are the popular video calling apps of the moment.

It has made life relatively easy. People in long distance relationships, people with relatives abroad that they can’t get to see as often as they like, people deployed away for work and long distance business meetings all thrive because video calling allows the continuity of the relationship.

That being said, I do not think I am the only one that is not a big fan of them.

Please comment and share your thoughts .

 

 

 

 

 

 

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