Why on earth do people respond to their phones ringing like Pavlov’s Dogs?
I’ve noticed that a lot of people, perhaps even most seem to be under the impression that they must answer their cell phones when they ring, or at least have an incredibly good “excuse” to make not answering it somehow legitimate. But why? The logic, and even the etiquette, escapes me.
Why just because you have a cell phone with you, must you keep it turned on? And even if it does ring, why do some people feel obligated to answer it? Why would someone feel it necessary even to answer the phone at home?
Of course I have known various people who have been ‘on-call’ at times and truly must answer their phones when they are, including a psychiatrist, a pharmacist, and a computer technician. And I have known some self-employed people, including an architect and a house painter, who have had to occasionally take business calls on their cell phones at times other than business hours. And of course there are those life situations where one waits for a call… perhaps a loved one is hospitalized, for example. But even those situations are generally unusual and infrequent for most people.
And the bottom line is… even with the possibility of business calls and personal emergency calls, since the advent of answering machines, voice mail, and caller-ID, the “it might be something important” doesn’t wash as a reason a person must answer the phone every time it rings, or even most of the time.
One person I’ve known once got rid of their cell phone, on the stated grounds that it was a ball & chain type thing, because they had to answer business calls when they had it. The logic there escapes me completely. If answering the cell phone was compulsory for their business, how could they get rid of the cell phone altogether? And if it wasn’t necessary, why did they have to answer it when they did have one?
And then there’s the people who answer the phone, simply to tell the caller they don’t have time for them. Or that they’re waiting for a call from someone else. Again, with the presence of caller-ID, answering machines, and voicemail, this seems highly unnecessary. And indeed, I think it comes across as more polite to simply let the machine take the call, than to answer just to tell the caller there’s something more important, which can very possibly come across giving the impression they are not important. Or is that the objective of such seemingly illogical answerings of the phone? A delusional ego trip at the expense of the caller?
Another aspect of this is the popular notion that people who call someone’s cell phone are doing so to pester them. This is a skewed perspective that naturally follows from the belief one must answer their phone every time it rings. If someone calls when the recipient doesn’t want a call, the caller is somehow blamed for doing something wrong. The logic with that is even further lost.
Of course there are those who are completely inconsiderate and will call people in the middle of the night, or during some other time that they’ve been asked not to call. But first of all, has the recipient made those wishes known to callers? If not, the caller cannot be blamed for not being a mind reader. But yes, there are those who are domineering or clingy, who will advance the idea of a person being somehow obligated to answer their phone by becoming irate or accusatory when their calls are not answered or not returned quickly. But if someone doesn’t respect someone else’s wishes on the topic of phone usage, there are likely larger issues going on in the relating of between those people. And there are always recourses if someone will not cease and desist with phone calls that venture into the realm of harrassment. But a simple phone call is not harrassment, and most people don’t make phone calls with the express purpose of pestering the recipient.
Could it be that humans have been trained somehow, with some type of reward system, to answer the phone every time it rings, and to fear some type of punishment for not answering it? Frankly, the way people behave, with an attitude of irritation about their cell phones, it sounds like they’re more fearing punishment. And even dog trainers in this age favour positive training methods. And despite the disdain many people pour forth about cell phones… they still can’t get enough of them.
Cell phones are meant to be convenient not inconvenient.
Your cell phone will not explode if you don’t answer it every time it rings.
It’s not rude, to not jump-to, every time the phone rings.
And if you’re salivating when your cell phone rings… you obviously have even larger issues.
Ginger the dog and Lisa october 2001 – You can’t even see the cell phone itself, but most of us ‘these days’ can quickly & easily recognize that she’s talking on one.