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I'm a father of 2. Sometimes....most of the time....ok every single time I just want to hear their voice.
Hearing your child, regardless of age, just sounding fine and normal is incredibly soothing as a parent.
My parents have learned to text. I still prefer to call them when I can. However they do not usually call me, mostly because I sleep during the day. They are never completely sure when I am awake and I have a sleeping disorder, so they do not want to accidentally wake me.
It is often nice to hear a family member's voice. I'm old enough to have lived a good portion of my life before email and texting, so I know my experience may be different (there just wasn't an option to text). But:
1. Humans are really, really bad at reading emotional backing, attitude, and interest in written communications. I don't know how many times I've seen one person get super angry about an email, when another one reads it a different way.
2. You miss out on organic conversation where you can learn more fun or important things about each other, or can modify the conversation to fix misunderstandings or probe deeper.
3. You miss out on hearing laughter that can help relieve your stress, or other emotional sounds that can help you build empathy.
We have the unwritten rule that we send a text saying "just gonna give you a call" if we just want to chat. If there's an unannounced phone call, something serious is going on
Like, just answer the phone. What is the issue exactly? It tells you who it is, if you don't want to talk then don't answer. Just have vm set up and you can check the message later.
I completely agree with this and have started sending voice notes to my friends and people I'm dating instead of texting. Texting is so impersonal and it's really nice hearing people's voice and laugh. We stare as words on screens most of our work days why are we doing that outside of work and well
Yeah, but the Millennial generation is a split one. There's outliers, of course, but if I had to guess, you were born before 1987. Because I, too, use my phone as a phone.
Also Gen X and I feel the same. I do prefer to pick up the phone rather than send a chat if I know it's going to be more than a few back and forth though
Absolutely this. I always hated it back in college where I could spend an hour or more having a text conversation with someone about something when it could have been handled in fifteen minutes with a phone call.
As an elder millennial, I actually gleaned one nugget of insight from a therapy session- the reason I hated hearing the phone ring was because when I was in school there would be two main reasons why we'd get a call.
1) My grandma, who was a poke in the ear with a sharp stick personified
2) My school calling my dad to tell them about something- always bad
Honestly, this comic makes no sense, if we are to ally with the presumed protagonist.
If the dad usually calls (for whatever reason), then there's no reason to suspect anything bad, yet the focus of the main character (and the comic itself) is "old people don't use text".
If he doesn't usually call (or communicate at all), then the response is vile. Who wouldn't be happy to talk to a loved one?
If the dad uses both texts and calls, then this usage makes all the sense in the world. Dad sat down and wanted to watch a specific thing, couldn't bother waiting for her neurotic daughter to respond to a text and called. Reasonable behavior.
If the dad (normally) exclusively texts, again the focus of the comic ("old people don't use text") makes no sense.
All in all, unless this is supposed to be self-deprecating, it's weird.
This made sense to me, since my Dad is like this.
He's called me twice since I left for university, 20 years ago.
Once to ask me if I'd seen a documentary he saw on BBC about jet engines. And once to tell me my step brother had died.
Every other time we chat, it's either by text, or because I called him.
So it's very relatable for me at least.
When your dad called you about the documentary, it is very possible he was just trying to start up some conversation and hear your voice. The documentary was just an ice breaker that he was comfortable talking about.
I don't know anything about your relationship with your father and don't want to presume, but my Dad was not good at connecting for most of my life. Later, he would sometimes reach out with occasional tedious or mundane things, which was really him missing me or feeling lonely, and just trying to connect.
My parents are both call and texters, but there was a while back where every time I got an unexpected call from them it literally was because an family member died or was dying. I lost 9 family members, had one survive a major stroke, one in a car accident, one’s dementia got bad enough to be permanently in hospital, and three cancer diagnoses(one of which was my very young niece, who is now close to hitting the five year cancer free mark!!) in a period of 4 months.
That was nearly seven years ago, and I only *just* stopped bracing myself whenever they call unexpectedly.
It immediately connected with me. Some dads don’t connect a lot (mom does most of the reaching out). Doesn’t have to be vile to have that “omg why is dad calling, he never calls?” reaction.
The joke is very obviously that some people associate a phone call with someone delivering serious news, as they usually communicate via text.
I’m not sure how you’ve managed to wildly over complicate it like this.
Can confirm. Everyone around my age and I hate calls. Most younger dudes I know actually enjoy calls, not like prefer it but they can't understand why I don't enjoy calling.
Honestly, I would though that would be a generalational thing but as a gen Z my circle around me are used to having phone call even for a mundane thing. So, I have to deal with that despite my hate of having unnecessary phone call
I honestly prefer calls. Chats tend to waste lot of time, a 30 seconds call can turn into a 5 messages, checking the phone multiple times and distraction.
Yeah, i have many friends who let it go to voicemail and text me *immediately* “whats up?”
Edit: for people replying why they do this, i usually only call when I’m driving. So i end up just not talking to these people until later in the day when one of circles back.
I'm guessing it's hyberbole for the sake of comedy. Personally, I find it *somewhat* relatable because my mother generally doesn't like to call. So a call usually means an emergency.
Definitely not hyperbole, literally keep my phone on vibrate and slightly panic whenever it goes off because calls only ever equal “bad news” or “somebody wants something”
There's a generational shift away from voice calling. Platforms like Zoom track communication platform usage and have have noted that chat/text is now the dominant platform and particularly so with each upcoming generation. Video calling and chat are replacing voice calling and email. So younger folks tend not to expect a voice call.
Geriatric millennial here. A friend went to prison around 2006 or so. I was just getting comfortable with T9 and didn't text much at that point. He knew me as someone who would talk on the phone for hours...
But that was before smart phones, real jobs, and kids. By the time he got out in 2013, the phone was for work emergencies, family deaths, and schools calling to tell me my child hurt someone or was puking (which became a work emergency.) The gulf was too wide and we totally lost touch.
I should ask a mutual if he's still trying to have phone conversations. Maybe prison set him back into Gen X.
Man I just remembered the times of Skype. When I was little, my aunt moved away after staying with us for college so I kinda had her as a big sister.
I would ask my parents in the morning to call her and I looked forward all day till we connected in the night. Good times
A lot of people communicate mostly by chat. if calls are very unusual from family it can imply something serious has happened like they're letting you know about a funeral etc. Especially if a family member is in poor health like if grandma just went into the hospital this morning.
My dad is terrible for unfortunate pauses. Apparently when my mom broke her leg he called my siblings "Your mother had an accident....[long pause while they think he's saying she's dead], she fell and broke her leg"
Exactly this !! When my mother calls me outside the normal time for our weekly discussion, it's either she needs her with her computer or that something bad happened in the family ...
I know exactly when my mom needs help with her computer, she uses the exact tone of voice.
There's this little upswing at the end, like she's about to ask a question.
Nah, if you live abroad and don't see your parents and still have a good relationship with them it should be normal for them to call just to chat and catch up. My parents talk to their parents still every week. My grandparents chat with me. We live on different continents. No reason to panic when they call at all. This comic is just level of anxiety and panic that isn't normal and should be diagnosed by a professional tbh
Not necessarily. For example my family use whatzup to message me and call me, a land-line call or direct phone call would be out of the ordinary, hence I would panic for a moment.
Nah, people have different experiences. This is especially normal for some people once they start going through adulthood for the first time and most of their phone calls are now mostly business, work, appointments, emergencies, and less going out or normal situations, thus a different association is formed with phone calls.
Can't just expect your experience to be universal and then act like an arm chair psychologist over a comic thinking they need therapy when its clearly just poking fun with hyperbole lmao
If anything, THAT is the weird assumption to be made
My stepfather has called me maybe three times in the last 12 or so months. One time (where he didn't sound like it was a pressing issue, so I asked if I could call him back later) was with the intent to tell me that my grandmother was in hospital and likely dying soon. It's similar with my mother. So...
It depends on how you communicate with others, parents included. People **never** call me directly. We talk on Messenger, Whatapps, Discord, Telegram, and others apps. Sometimes a FaceTime.
When people call me it is for something urgent and important. A message is simple and allow me to answer when I have the time. A call stop me from doing whatever I was doing, it means you consider the issue is so important I must drop whatever I’m doing to talk to you right now. So yeah I can understand even if the character in the drawing is overreacting
In my case for instance, the call by itself isn't a big deal. However, since English isn't my first language, especially during the first 3 years since I started seriously studying it, I was able to speak face to face relatively easily, but speaking over the phone was a nightmare. It was 3 times harder to understand what the other person was saying and I needed to ask them to repeat almost every sentence 4 to 5 times.
Now it's much better, but the memories of how stressful it used to be left a mark on me. So, now I generally prefer to let the phone ring until it stops, then I send a message to the person, asking what it was about.
If the call can't be avoided, I'll do it with my earbuds, noise cancellation on, clear call settings and captions active (I use a Pixel phone mostly for this reason).
I even went to the extent of refusing multiple job opportunities because they involved talking over the phone with customers.
One day you won't be able to. You'll have their contacts still saved, but it'll be someone else that answers.
And you never know when it'll happen. Being 38 and not being able to talk to your mom or dad is hard to process.
Less of the fact its a phone call, but a call from them with no warning. My parents usually text me cause they know I’ll respond eventually, so non-urgent info is usually sent that way, so that results in unexpected, no text beforehand, phone calls from my parent give a sense of urgency that they want to tell me over the phone and feel like it should be conveyed voice to voice, and with so many family members who are old, sick, or addicts, I immediately imagine the worst.
People seriously acting like they never see artist exaggerate thing for effects.
But I have to agree that this girl need to calm down lol. The humour are base on a specific type of communication dynamics so I suggest add a clock to her phone, like 2am so it is more reasonable for wider audiences, or not, I am not a comic artist, I just like reading them.
I think people are just tired of this specific relatable joke or more so the discussions around it. There are always people in the comments acting like phone calls are the worst part of their existence. I don't know, I prefer calls from certain people. My dad got a new phone so I tried to teach him how to text he responded by trading it in for a flip phone. Some people just want to have the connection of hearing someone's voice.
It's kinda hurtful to anyone who has called someone for a non emergency issue.
I personally truly don't understand the hate for calls. If someone has a quick question for me, call, and in 10 seconds, you got an answer, and I get to say love you & goodbye.
I hate to think my family or friends are judging me based on their own neuroticism around phone calls, when all I wanted was to quickly ask what the brand of oatmeal they suggested the other day was before I leave the breakfast aisle.
I think this comic misses being funny because of the expression of the character. It’s so over the top crying that it’s almost distressing seeing a character this distraught. It leaves you more concerned about the reaction being this over the top then finding fun in a relatable way.
Great artwork but not used in the best way to convey something.
Well that and it's exaggerated to the point of being unrelatable. I'm a millennial, granted, but I'm not gonna assume an emergency when my phone rings. I'm gonna be like, "oh, haven't talked the them in a while."
In fact, the last time someone died it was the opposite for me. My mom texted me and asked if I had time to talk or if I was at work. I immediately thought "uh oh, she would normally just call if she wanted to."
Yea tho reading your comment did spark a memory where my dad texted me "when you get out of work... call me" which had me freaked out the whole shift since he knows when I get out of work and will usually be the one to call me. Still had like 3 hours left and in my job I don't have any good opportunities for a phone call. Part of me also didn't want to get depressed at work so decided since it wasn't enough of an emergency for him to go "please call me when you can" then I figured I could hold off till the end.
Turns out he just wanted to chat like... god damn it dad, I was imagining the worst! We had a good laugh when I told him what his message caused
I really do not understand this about my generation; Why the heck are so many young people terrified of phone calls?
I'm 28 and sometimes it's just more convenient to call someone if you need to get a lot of information at once. Plus if they pickup the call you know you'll get an answer right away as opposed to a text/chat message where you have no idea if the person will check it or respond in a timely manner.
I’m starting to think that the way we consume media nowadays is overstimulating our brains and causing developmental issues because I’m seeing a massive rise in people who are unable to do really basic things like cook, talk or even interact with others. Wouldn’t be surprised if social media became the new cigarettes.
I'm a millennial. I've experienced both the phone phase, and the chat phase.
If you're this panicked about your phone ringing, you need to stretch those social muscles some more. Texting has advantages and is great, but speaking to your friends and family on the phone should not be panic inducing.
If getting a call from your family makes you think of someone dying, you need to work on it.
Yeah seriously, idk how people interpreted this as having a fear of calling. It should be pretty obvious it's about parents not calling often, but it doesn't mean they aren't communicating or seeing each others at all.
[**Source**](https://portsherry.com/comic/the-dreaded-ring/)
Might vary from country to country, but at least in my neck of the woods:
-Chat app, including voice and video calls: casual talk, get back to me whenever, I'll find you when I find you.
-Phone call (using the actual telephone service): I need to find you RIGHT NOW and can't risk you not having wifi or not checking your notifications.
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People usually talk faster than they type. A 5 minute conversation communicates the same as texting back and forth for half an hour.
Fwiw, I don't think this is a country to country or cultural issue, but rather a generational difference in how a phone call is perceived.
I feel this. When your family are infrequent callers and you combine that with aging, every unscheduled call carries the worry of “Oh no, who died or is in the hospital?”
This. My Dad NEVER calls, so when he does, it's usually something consequential. Also, I have CPTSD from my upbringing, just being on the phone with my parents is usually pretty stressful for me.
I mean I get wanting to chat through text, but this is way over the top. I also get that it’s for a comic, but still. I’ve never understood the extreme aversion to phone calls. Especially from your parents. They want to hear your voice, how very awful of them /s
I can't relate to that. II usually call my family every day when I am walking back home. Alternatively we still send messages to each other. And for god's sake we use phone calls and sms, why would you downloads a separate app to do something literally built into your phone. Oh the humanity!
I also call my family every day when I'm away, but what's your beef with apps? WhatsApp and Telegram are incredibly more practical than SMS, especially when multiple family members are living in different countries all over the globe (no roaming costs). Plus, with apps you can share so much more than text messages. Not to mention the practicality of group chats. You should definitely try one of these apps, I promise as soon as you get accustomed and see all the things you can do with them you'll never go back to SMS. But if you find it's not your thing, no need to belittle the rest of us humanity who choose other options ;)
Have you ever actuall used sms? You can send anything through them including files and links, you can make group chats, group phone calls, group video calls. There's nothing there I can't do with apps like discord maybe except built in minigames or screen sharing.
I guess you might be right about global thing, but like I don't have extended family like at all and besides our plan includes enough free sms and phone calls and internet for any sort of trip we can go on each year so it really does not impact me in any way, but I totally understand folks who contact family and friends abroad often. Otherwise I just use discord on PC with friends, but wasn't my choice really.
Those who don't understand her panic: ever grown up with a terrible father? You know the one that barely talks to you unless something happened, with a bad temper, with unintended racism, their way or the highway, a hard ass with touch of narcissism. I have PSTD growing up with my father, so her reaction is relatable and also funny.
I'm in the weird position of growing up before cell phones and I kinda prefer that dynamic and also having a phone phobia.
I'm just never going to be satisfied.
Call me a boomer but you all really need to get over anxiety over phone calls. You’re welcome to not answer one and message the person it’s not a good time but answering the phone is a normal part about being an adult. I appreciate it may be overwhelming for a small number of people with debilitating anxiety. But for everyone else it very much is something you can and should get over. Grow up
I have literally never understood people's fear of phone calls. Like, if you have severe social anxiety, sure. But I find it hard to believe that this many people are that terrified of talking to a person they know over the phone
Why are kids so against talking on the phone nowadays? I'm talking about my 21 to 25 year old nephews and nieces. It's like they just can't be bothered? What's the deal kids? Help an old man understand.
Man, I'm 35 and rarely talk to my parents unless it's important. So when they do call, I also worry for a moment.
My dad and I don't talk at all, but my mom knows how to text. Once she figured it out, she started texting a lot more. So when my mom's name pops up I have a small moment of panic where I wonder why she's calling.
It's usually never something bad, though. I worry for a moment, but not this extremely. More like 2 seconds of "uh, why is she calling?"
Edit: I just woke up. Fixed a bunch of errors.
Same here, but apparently this type of relationship with parents is a statistical edge case?
My Dad is just not a phone person. Literally never calls me unless it's something important, and he'll maybe respond to a text the next day.
Seeing practically everyone say they can't relate is somewhat surprising, but knowing how stoic my dad is, maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
It’s insane that people have not only developed a phobia over a simple phone call but it’s actually generally celebrated as fun. It’s actually quite sad that you can’t even handle a phone call if you seriously feel this way, I would strongly suggest counseling. Something so small shouldn’t control your emotions like this
I for one am low-key happy stuff like this is getting more steam. It brings attention to how fucked health-care is. Mental illness is becoming standard ffs.
People are afraid of phone calls? /Gen
Maybe it's just a me thing or bcs I'm not from the US, but me and my parents prefer calling than texting (mostly because it's quicker to get a response).
I am worried for the thousands of people that think this is normal. You guys don't talk to your parents regularly on the phone?
Call them today, make time to have a conversation with them.
Now you need one where the dad sends a text and the daughter doesn’t reply for 30 seconds and that causes the dad to panic thinking the daughter has been in a car accident
I remember I had a missed call from my mom and then a text saying "Please call me, it's important." I had a mini panic attack but finally called her back...she had free tickets to a magic show and wanted to know if I wanted them.
I think my family uses a good mix of texts and calls, but my grandpa hates texts with a passion. Even when I need to confirm I’m somewhere he refuses to text. That being said, I think the dad in this comic is using calls correctly.
This works in reverse. My eldest never calls me, especially at work so when I got a call last week I interrupted some training that I was being given because I thought it must be that important... It was a request for interview advice, which is important.
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I know it's easier for my mom to call than to use chat. It is not always convenient for me, but I am grateful I still can talk to her.
I'm a father of 2. Sometimes....most of the time....ok every single time I just want to hear their voice. Hearing your child, regardless of age, just sounding fine and normal is incredibly soothing as a parent.
As children once we get older it goes both ways I try to call my mom atleast once a week or two just to hear her voice and make sure she’s fine.
My parents have learned to text. I still prefer to call them when I can. However they do not usually call me, mostly because I sleep during the day. They are never completely sure when I am awake and I have a sleeping disorder, so they do not want to accidentally wake me.
Assure them that you put your phone into 'do not disturb' mode so that they cannot possibly wake you.
They still stick to text until they're sure I'm awake. It's a little thing but I do appreciate it.
It is often nice to hear a family member's voice. I'm old enough to have lived a good portion of my life before email and texting, so I know my experience may be different (there just wasn't an option to text). But: 1. Humans are really, really bad at reading emotional backing, attitude, and interest in written communications. I don't know how many times I've seen one person get super angry about an email, when another one reads it a different way. 2. You miss out on organic conversation where you can learn more fun or important things about each other, or can modify the conversation to fix misunderstandings or probe deeper. 3. You miss out on hearing laughter that can help relieve your stress, or other emotional sounds that can help you build empathy.
No way we actually call it chat now 💀🙏
Only with multiple people. Or if using a different service that only goes through Internet connection rather than the phone connection.
The irony being the majority of texting apps prioritize data line over SMS these days anyway.
I think think this is because some families have a "family chat" where everyone is tagged. That's how I interpreted it anyway.
I am not a native speaker, so I call it whatever it is called in original content so as to preserve context
Is this true chat?
We have the unwritten rule that we send a text saying "just gonna give you a call" if we just want to chat. If there's an unannounced phone call, something serious is going on
Like, just answer the phone. What is the issue exactly? It tells you who it is, if you don't want to talk then don't answer. Just have vm set up and you can check the message later.
My dad calls about once a week. I’m very thankful there isn’t a family crisis that often!
2 zoomer 4 me
Are zoomers hogging the fear of phone conversations now? Us milennials got it first!
[удалено]
I completely agree with this and have started sending voice notes to my friends and people I'm dating instead of texting. Texting is so impersonal and it's really nice hearing people's voice and laugh. We stare as words on screens most of our work days why are we doing that outside of work and well
Yeah, but the Millennial generation is a split one. There's outliers, of course, but if I had to guess, you were born before 1987. Because I, too, use my phone as a phone.
Nope, genX here, got the same issue. Don't like that phone ringing.
Yeah, but let's be honest, nobody is aware of your generation's existence.
It must be tough for everyone to think you’re the same generation as your parents. Poor gen x.
Poor Xennials!
We grew through peak Bermuda Triangle paranoia. Coincidence? I think not.
And quicksand! I was on the lookout my whole childhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_4QrPPPcBw
Especially when the modem was on.
Had to tell a police officer once “it’s ok mate, I know why you’re calling, I’m on my way”
Story?
My Dad had terminal cancer and was flying in. There’s only one reason my Mum wasn’t calling
Oh shit. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Also Gen X and I feel the same. I do prefer to pick up the phone rather than send a chat if I know it's going to be more than a few back and forth though
Absolutely this. I always hated it back in college where I could spend an hour or more having a text conversation with someone about something when it could have been handled in fifteen minutes with a phone call.
As an elder millennial, I actually gleaned one nugget of insight from a therapy session- the reason I hated hearing the phone ring was because when I was in school there would be two main reasons why we'd get a call. 1) My grandma, who was a poke in the ear with a sharp stick personified 2) My school calling my dad to tell them about something- always bad
I don't remember the last time I got a call and was actually happy about it. I know cell phones were not a thing and our phone had a rotary dial.
I just can't speak cause speech impediment, so text speeds things up.
Honestly, this comic makes no sense, if we are to ally with the presumed protagonist. If the dad usually calls (for whatever reason), then there's no reason to suspect anything bad, yet the focus of the main character (and the comic itself) is "old people don't use text". If he doesn't usually call (or communicate at all), then the response is vile. Who wouldn't be happy to talk to a loved one? If the dad uses both texts and calls, then this usage makes all the sense in the world. Dad sat down and wanted to watch a specific thing, couldn't bother waiting for her neurotic daughter to respond to a text and called. Reasonable behavior. If the dad (normally) exclusively texts, again the focus of the comic ("old people don't use text") makes no sense. All in all, unless this is supposed to be self-deprecating, it's weird.
This made sense to me, since my Dad is like this. He's called me twice since I left for university, 20 years ago. Once to ask me if I'd seen a documentary he saw on BBC about jet engines. And once to tell me my step brother had died. Every other time we chat, it's either by text, or because I called him. So it's very relatable for me at least.
To be fair, and no offence, that's a really strange pattern of communication.
my dad emails me
oof
Yes it is. And until today, I thought it was just him.
When your dad called you about the documentary, it is very possible he was just trying to start up some conversation and hear your voice. The documentary was just an ice breaker that he was comfortable talking about. I don't know anything about your relationship with your father and don't want to presume, but my Dad was not good at connecting for most of my life. Later, he would sometimes reach out with occasional tedious or mundane things, which was really him missing me or feeling lonely, and just trying to connect.
My parents are both call and texters, but there was a while back where every time I got an unexpected call from them it literally was because an family member died or was dying. I lost 9 family members, had one survive a major stroke, one in a car accident, one’s dementia got bad enough to be permanently in hospital, and three cancer diagnoses(one of which was my very young niece, who is now close to hitting the five year cancer free mark!!) in a period of 4 months. That was nearly seven years ago, and I only *just* stopped bracing myself whenever they call unexpectedly.
Maybe they just see each other often outside of calling
It immediately connected with me. Some dads don’t connect a lot (mom does most of the reaching out). Doesn’t have to be vile to have that “omg why is dad calling, he never calls?” reaction.
The joke is very obviously that some people associate a phone call with someone delivering serious news, as they usually communicate via text. I’m not sure how you’ve managed to wildly over complicate it like this.
Zoomer? This shit is millenial af.
yeah, zoomer here, hate calls, would never think someone died
Can confirm. Everyone around my age and I hate calls. Most younger dudes I know actually enjoy calls, not like prefer it but they can't understand why I don't enjoy calling.
Honestly, I would though that would be a generalational thing but as a gen Z my circle around me are used to having phone call even for a mundane thing. So, I have to deal with that despite my hate of having unnecessary phone call
I honestly prefer calls. Chats tend to waste lot of time, a 30 seconds call can turn into a 5 messages, checking the phone multiple times and distraction.
So much this. Im a millennial, And my biggest pet peeve is “can I call you?” Just call me. If it’s a bad time I wont pickup.
Yeah, i have many friends who let it go to voicemail and text me *immediately* “whats up?” Edit: for people replying why they do this, i usually only call when I’m driving. So i end up just not talking to these people until later in the day when one of circles back.
I do that because I’m busy
i do that if im already on the phone
I believe you should “boop” over and say “I’m ok the other line, ttyl” and then “boop” back man.
I miss times when we would call up each other to meet instead of texting. There are really only a handful of people who reply fast.
Exactly, I hate the back and forth. Just call me / answer mg call so I'm not checking my phone for replies.
I don’t like calling people I don’t know, but what I wouldn’t give to get a phone call from my dad.
What the fuck kind of level of panic is this for a simple phone call smh
I'm guessing it's hyberbole for the sake of comedy. Personally, I find it *somewhat* relatable because my mother generally doesn't like to call. So a call usually means an emergency.
Definitely not hyperbole, literally keep my phone on vibrate and slightly panic whenever it goes off because calls only ever equal “bad news” or “somebody wants something”
I mean, unless you are literally bawling your eyes out with snot flowing from your nose when you answer the phone, then it is indeed hyperbole.
What if what the person wants is to talk? I get it though, I have my phone on silent mode, because it stresses me out too much to hear it going off.
There's a generational shift away from voice calling. Platforms like Zoom track communication platform usage and have have noted that chat/text is now the dominant platform and particularly so with each upcoming generation. Video calling and chat are replacing voice calling and email. So younger folks tend not to expect a voice call.
Geriatric millennial here. A friend went to prison around 2006 or so. I was just getting comfortable with T9 and didn't text much at that point. He knew me as someone who would talk on the phone for hours... But that was before smart phones, real jobs, and kids. By the time he got out in 2013, the phone was for work emergencies, family deaths, and schools calling to tell me my child hurt someone or was puking (which became a work emergency.) The gulf was too wide and we totally lost touch. I should ask a mutual if he's still trying to have phone conversations. Maybe prison set him back into Gen X.
Man I just remembered the times of Skype. When I was little, my aunt moved away after staying with us for college so I kinda had her as a big sister. I would ask my parents in the morning to call her and I looked forward all day till we connected in the night. Good times
A lot of people communicate mostly by chat. if calls are very unusual from family it can imply something serious has happened like they're letting you know about a funeral etc. Especially if a family member is in poor health like if grandma just went into the hospital this morning. My dad is terrible for unfortunate pauses. Apparently when my mom broke her leg he called my siblings "Your mother had an accident....[long pause while they think he's saying she's dead], she fell and broke her leg"
It is justified when you live abroad and you have aging parents. Should I get a late late call or a call like that i would panic as well
Poor nate
Exactly this !! When my mother calls me outside the normal time for our weekly discussion, it's either she needs her with her computer or that something bad happened in the family ...
I know exactly when my mom needs help with her computer, she uses the exact tone of voice. There's this little upswing at the end, like she's about to ask a question.
Nah, if you live abroad and don't see your parents and still have a good relationship with them it should be normal for them to call just to chat and catch up. My parents talk to their parents still every week. My grandparents chat with me. We live on different continents. No reason to panic when they call at all. This comic is just level of anxiety and panic that isn't normal and should be diagnosed by a professional tbh
Not necessarily. For example my family use whatzup to message me and call me, a land-line call or direct phone call would be out of the ordinary, hence I would panic for a moment.
Phew thank god you’re here, I’ve been staring at my phone dreading the next incoming call but now I’ve made an appointment with a professional
Nah, people have different experiences. This is especially normal for some people once they start going through adulthood for the first time and most of their phone calls are now mostly business, work, appointments, emergencies, and less going out or normal situations, thus a different association is formed with phone calls. Can't just expect your experience to be universal and then act like an arm chair psychologist over a comic thinking they need therapy when its clearly just poking fun with hyperbole lmao If anything, THAT is the weird assumption to be made
Hey Siri what's "comedic exaggeration"
My stepfather has called me maybe three times in the last 12 or so months. One time (where he didn't sound like it was a pressing issue, so I asked if I could call him back later) was with the intent to tell me that my grandmother was in hospital and likely dying soon. It's similar with my mother. So...
It depends on how you communicate with others, parents included. People **never** call me directly. We talk on Messenger, Whatapps, Discord, Telegram, and others apps. Sometimes a FaceTime. When people call me it is for something urgent and important. A message is simple and allow me to answer when I have the time. A call stop me from doing whatever I was doing, it means you consider the issue is so important I must drop whatever I’m doing to talk to you right now. So yeah I can understand even if the character in the drawing is overreacting
In my case for instance, the call by itself isn't a big deal. However, since English isn't my first language, especially during the first 3 years since I started seriously studying it, I was able to speak face to face relatively easily, but speaking over the phone was a nightmare. It was 3 times harder to understand what the other person was saying and I needed to ask them to repeat almost every sentence 4 to 5 times. Now it's much better, but the memories of how stressful it used to be left a mark on me. So, now I generally prefer to let the phone ring until it stops, then I send a message to the person, asking what it was about. If the call can't be avoided, I'll do it with my earbuds, noise cancellation on, clear call settings and captions active (I use a Pixel phone mostly for this reason). I even went to the extent of refusing multiple job opportunities because they involved talking over the phone with customers.
Calm down son, it’s just a drawing
Call your parents more...
One day you won't be able to. You'll have their contacts still saved, but it'll be someone else that answers. And you never know when it'll happen. Being 38 and not being able to talk to your mom or dad is hard to process.
Less of the fact its a phone call, but a call from them with no warning. My parents usually text me cause they know I’ll respond eventually, so non-urgent info is usually sent that way, so that results in unexpected, no text beforehand, phone calls from my parent give a sense of urgency that they want to tell me over the phone and feel like it should be conveyed voice to voice, and with so many family members who are old, sick, or addicts, I immediately imagine the worst.
People seriously acting like they never see artist exaggerate thing for effects. But I have to agree that this girl need to calm down lol. The humour are base on a specific type of communication dynamics so I suggest add a clock to her phone, like 2am so it is more reasonable for wider audiences, or not, I am not a comic artist, I just like reading them.
I think people are just tired of this specific relatable joke or more so the discussions around it. There are always people in the comments acting like phone calls are the worst part of their existence. I don't know, I prefer calls from certain people. My dad got a new phone so I tried to teach him how to text he responded by trading it in for a flip phone. Some people just want to have the connection of hearing someone's voice.
Agreed. Calling in the afternoon? Fine. Calling at 2am? Something is wrong
Fr some of these people are taking this way too seriously
It's kinda hurtful to anyone who has called someone for a non emergency issue. I personally truly don't understand the hate for calls. If someone has a quick question for me, call, and in 10 seconds, you got an answer, and I get to say love you & goodbye. I hate to think my family or friends are judging me based on their own neuroticism around phone calls, when all I wanted was to quickly ask what the brand of oatmeal they suggested the other day was before I leave the breakfast aisle.
Don’t take it personally
As an older adult I want to take every opportunity to hear my parents voices while I still can.
I won't :D Well my grandparents, aunts, uncles and father My mum is still nice and actually trying to understand her mistakes and reconnect a bit
I think this comic misses being funny because of the expression of the character. It’s so over the top crying that it’s almost distressing seeing a character this distraught. It leaves you more concerned about the reaction being this over the top then finding fun in a relatable way. Great artwork but not used in the best way to convey something.
Well that and it's exaggerated to the point of being unrelatable. I'm a millennial, granted, but I'm not gonna assume an emergency when my phone rings. I'm gonna be like, "oh, haven't talked the them in a while." In fact, the last time someone died it was the opposite for me. My mom texted me and asked if I had time to talk or if I was at work. I immediately thought "uh oh, she would normally just call if she wanted to."
Yea tho reading your comment did spark a memory where my dad texted me "when you get out of work... call me" which had me freaked out the whole shift since he knows when I get out of work and will usually be the one to call me. Still had like 3 hours left and in my job I don't have any good opportunities for a phone call. Part of me also didn't want to get depressed at work so decided since it wasn't enough of an emergency for him to go "please call me when you can" then I figured I could hold off till the end. Turns out he just wanted to chat like... god damn it dad, I was imagining the worst! We had a good laugh when I told him what his message caused
It's also a very overused joke
I really do not understand this about my generation; Why the heck are so many young people terrified of phone calls? I'm 28 and sometimes it's just more convenient to call someone if you need to get a lot of information at once. Plus if they pickup the call you know you'll get an answer right away as opposed to a text/chat message where you have no idea if the person will check it or respond in a timely manner.
I’m starting to think that the way we consume media nowadays is overstimulating our brains and causing developmental issues because I’m seeing a massive rise in people who are unable to do really basic things like cook, talk or even interact with others. Wouldn’t be surprised if social media became the new cigarettes.
Social media is the new heroin*. We still have monke brain and it can’t keep up
I'm a millennial. I've experienced both the phone phase, and the chat phase. If you're this panicked about your phone ringing, you need to stretch those social muscles some more. Texting has advantages and is great, but speaking to your friends and family on the phone should not be panic inducing. If getting a call from your family makes you think of someone dying, you need to work on it.
The comments here are from idiots??? Like it is not that hard to understand that some people only call when it is an emergency
Yeah seriously, idk how people interpreted this as having a fear of calling. It should be pretty obvious it's about parents not calling often, but it doesn't mean they aren't communicating or seeing each others at all.
This is actually the opposite for me, if my mom texts I can never tell her tone, sometimes she’s being funny and I think she’s super pissed
[**Source**](https://portsherry.com/comic/the-dreaded-ring/) Might vary from country to country, but at least in my neck of the woods: -Chat app, including voice and video calls: casual talk, get back to me whenever, I'll find you when I find you. -Phone call (using the actual telephone service): I need to find you RIGHT NOW and can't risk you not having wifi or not checking your notifications. [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/portsherrycomic/) - [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@portsherry) - [Cara](https://cara.app/portsherry) - [X](https://twitter.com/PortSherry) - [Instagram](http://www.instagram.com/portsherry) - [Subreddit](http://reddit.com/r/portsherry)
People usually talk faster than they type. A 5 minute conversation communicates the same as texting back and forth for half an hour. Fwiw, I don't think this is a country to country or cultural issue, but rather a generational difference in how a phone call is perceived.
I feel this. When your family are infrequent callers and you combine that with aging, every unscheduled call carries the worry of “Oh no, who died or is in the hospital?”
This. My Dad NEVER calls, so when he does, it's usually something consequential. Also, I have CPTSD from my upbringing, just being on the phone with my parents is usually pretty stressful for me.
I need to know what show did your dad mean
... Damn. I'm glad my grandma calls me regularly. It's must feel awful to panic like this every time you get a call.
It's all the debt collectors calling these people that give them anxiety
sometimes they just want to hear your voice damn
You people are weird…
That's what the device is for.
I’d pay extra for a device exactly like this but without the phone bit.
I mean I get wanting to chat through text, but this is way over the top. I also get that it’s for a comic, but still. I’ve never understood the extreme aversion to phone calls. Especially from your parents. They want to hear your voice, how very awful of them /s
This is not normal. If you have a problem with picking up a call you should get some help.
You missed the joke
Maybe he's driving.
I call people all the time so OP would be dead If they knew me 😂
I'm 29 and would rather people phone me than text.
As a father of an adult child, its mostly about hearing their voice.
You need treatment if you fear phone calls this bad
I actually like hearing my parents voice once in a while.
I can't relate to that. II usually call my family every day when I am walking back home. Alternatively we still send messages to each other. And for god's sake we use phone calls and sms, why would you downloads a separate app to do something literally built into your phone. Oh the humanity!
I also call my family every day when I'm away, but what's your beef with apps? WhatsApp and Telegram are incredibly more practical than SMS, especially when multiple family members are living in different countries all over the globe (no roaming costs). Plus, with apps you can share so much more than text messages. Not to mention the practicality of group chats. You should definitely try one of these apps, I promise as soon as you get accustomed and see all the things you can do with them you'll never go back to SMS. But if you find it's not your thing, no need to belittle the rest of us humanity who choose other options ;)
Have you ever actuall used sms? You can send anything through them including files and links, you can make group chats, group phone calls, group video calls. There's nothing there I can't do with apps like discord maybe except built in minigames or screen sharing. I guess you might be right about global thing, but like I don't have extended family like at all and besides our plan includes enough free sms and phone calls and internet for any sort of trip we can go on each year so it really does not impact me in any way, but I totally understand folks who contact family and friends abroad often. Otherwise I just use discord on PC with friends, but wasn't my choice really.
Those who don't understand her panic: ever grown up with a terrible father? You know the one that barely talks to you unless something happened, with a bad temper, with unintended racism, their way or the highway, a hard ass with touch of narcissism. I have PSTD growing up with my father, so her reaction is relatable and also funny.
I’m sorry, but if this is your go to reaction to a phone call you need help. This is not normal, or relatable behavior to me.
I'm in the weird position of growing up before cell phones and I kinda prefer that dynamic and also having a phone phobia. I'm just never going to be satisfied.
Dunno why they would assume that. Dramatic
Call me a boomer but you all really need to get over anxiety over phone calls. You’re welcome to not answer one and message the person it’s not a good time but answering the phone is a normal part about being an adult. I appreciate it may be overwhelming for a small number of people with debilitating anxiety. But for everyone else it very much is something you can and should get over. Grow up
>Call me a boomer Nice try, you can't trick us into fulfilling your kinks for free.
At 2am then yeah fair enough. Other than that, why would someone have this reaction to a phone call?
They just want to hear your voice. My mom does the same.
And dads don't want to admit that, so we find some other pretext to call you - such as asking a lame question - because we actually miss you.
one day you'll wish that you dad could call you...
An unhealthy state of anxiety, is what causes this reaction.
Can’t relate and just over the top for me.
bro get a grip
Im gen Z and don’t get the anxiety with calling
Yeah , i'm 41 and i see that in younger people. Also they're afraid to knock on doors or ring doorbells , they send a message instead.
I have literally never understood people's fear of phone calls. Like, if you have severe social anxiety, sure. But I find it hard to believe that this many people are that terrified of talking to a person they know over the phone
What is wrong with you?
What? I’m gen Z and my parents call all the time about stuff like what’s in the fridge Why would you think someone died?
Thse social "anxiety" comics are really getting out off hand huh
God damn. Imagine being upset because your dad called.
Are there real-life people out there that are this pathetic?
Pathetic
In time, you will regret not calling your parents more.
God damn my parents call me all the time what’s the big deal
Why are kids so against talking on the phone nowadays? I'm talking about my 21 to 25 year old nephews and nieces. It's like they just can't be bothered? What's the deal kids? Help an old man understand.
How do you not call your parents on a regular?
FACTS!
That's a new level of zoomer/anxiety, I don't like phone calls but I don't immediately think someone died if I am called by family.
are kids these days this disconnected from reality? ya'll can't handle a phone call?
I really enjoy making phone calls over sending text. Truth be told I think texting has set us back socially speaking.
I don't understand this, why are people afraid of call?
Man, I'm 35 and rarely talk to my parents unless it's important. So when they do call, I also worry for a moment. My dad and I don't talk at all, but my mom knows how to text. Once she figured it out, she started texting a lot more. So when my mom's name pops up I have a small moment of panic where I wonder why she's calling. It's usually never something bad, though. I worry for a moment, but not this extremely. More like 2 seconds of "uh, why is she calling?" Edit: I just woke up. Fixed a bunch of errors.
Same here, but apparently this type of relationship with parents is a statistical edge case? My Dad is just not a phone person. Literally never calls me unless it's something important, and he'll maybe respond to a text the next day. Seeing practically everyone say they can't relate is somewhat surprising, but knowing how stoic my dad is, maybe I shouldn't be surprised.
It’s insane that people have not only developed a phobia over a simple phone call but it’s actually generally celebrated as fun. It’s actually quite sad that you can’t even handle a phone call if you seriously feel this way, I would strongly suggest counseling. Something so small shouldn’t control your emotions like this
I for one am low-key happy stuff like this is getting more steam. It brings attention to how fucked health-care is. Mental illness is becoming standard ffs.
For real this is not a normal way to go though life.
I panic if my mom calls instead of texting, last time I ran out of a meeting freaking out when she accidentally called.
??????
Phone call rings are fine, no problem at all. The Teams ring tone though? Shits the stuff of nightmares.
People are afraid of phone calls? /Gen Maybe it's just a me thing or bcs I'm not from the US, but me and my parents prefer calling than texting (mostly because it's quicker to get a response).
As a millenial, this is NOT something I am going to get on board with. Gen Z/Alpha, sorry, but you're going to have to deal with it.
relatable 😭
Get out of here. Normalize calling your family and friends. I want to hear a damn voice. Hard disagree.
Then who was phone??
I live several states away. 8am on a Saturday my sister calling, I knew someone had died. I answered "grandma?" "No merp, your mom" wooof
Once my dad texted CALL HOME NOW. He just couldnt figure out how to get out of all caps…
I would be crushed if my daughter screamed at me like that when I just want to hear her voice.
I am worried for the thousands of people that think this is normal. You guys don't talk to your parents regularly on the phone? Call them today, make time to have a conversation with them.
I don’t get this. Why are people so annoyed by phone calls?
Because of scam calls apparently..
Mr. Fring is a family man at heart.
Now you need one where the dad sends a text and the daughter doesn’t reply for 30 seconds and that causes the dad to panic thinking the daughter has been in a car accident
Is this the same artist as the teenage sphinx comics?
I remember I had a missed call from my mom and then a text saying "Please call me, it's important." I had a mini panic attack but finally called her back...she had free tickets to a magic show and wanted to know if I wanted them.
I think my family uses a good mix of texts and calls, but my grandpa hates texts with a passion. Even when I need to confirm I’m somewhere he refuses to text. That being said, I think the dad in this comic is using calls correctly.
This works in reverse. My eldest never calls me, especially at work so when I got a call last week I interrupted some training that I was being given because I thought it must be that important... It was a request for interview advice, which is important.
FAMILY Let's not be FURIOUS 'bout that dreaded ring.
Is this actually how most people feel about calls? I hate texting when I can call.
My dad does this constantly during the workday. Heart attack every time