I’m just gonna say it: I’d much prefer to receive a voice memo than a phone call right now.
In a period where we’re stuck inside and haven’t really socialised in months—or, for some of us, in a full year—having a proper phone call with someone sounds exhausting. After a long day of working and doom scrolling, I really don’t have the social and mental energy to sit down and have a proper conversation with someone.
Thanks to these lockdowns, my head is empty and full of no thoughts. I need time to process things, watch my silly little TV shows, stare at my silly little walls, and think about what I want to say without someone hearing it in real-time. If that description sounds familiar to you, may I suggest sending voice memos for the remainder of the time you’re in lockdown?
Maybe it’s the social anxiety in me but I just find sending minute-long soundbites to be a far more effective and efficient way to chat with friends right now than a committed phone call. With voice memos, there’s no expectation to have an immediate answer or reaction to something.
When someone sends you one, there’s no pressure to respond right away. Even if you open a message and see it, it takes time to sit there, listen to it, think on it, and then send a voice memo back.
During these last seven weeks, I’ve found myself talking to friends through voice memos instead of over Zoom. They’re just way easier than a phone call because all they are is a minute-long recording of you rambling. You can really get your point across in a voice memo or two, and I’ve found it just being the perfect way to keep up to date on what friends are doing and how they’re feeling.
When a friend sends me a voice memo, I get excited. Seeing a wall of them in my notifications feels like seeing a box of presents under a Christmas tree. Here in my phone are little soundbite capsules of my loved ones talking to me about how they’re going right now, or a silly meme they can’t stop thinking about once a day, or some juicy inside tea.
It’s no secret that the fact none of us can see each other face-to-face has completely changed the dynamics and economy of social media and online messaging. Everyone’s now obsessed with an Instagram photo dump, but for me, it’s made sending voice memos my go-to form of communication. And, oddly, I feel like I’m not alone in this.
So, if you miss your friends but don’t have the social energy to really talk on the phone with them right now, maybe try sending them a voice memo or two. I promise, you’ll get a little serotonin boost when they respond.
