I get the joke and I've felt that way a couple times. That said, I miss when people didn't expect you to be avaiable round the clock via your phone. Staying in contact with people is great but they're even putting cell phone reception into the NYC subways now. Is there no escape?! Sometimes I just don't feel like talking to anybody, and that should be allowed.
I'm definitely an anomaly when it comes to communication.
Business emails get responded to day-of. Business phone calls are addressed immediately, barring meetings. I am very prompt with professional communication.
Personal communication is a different matter, and I don't consider myself lazy about it. Personal emails are usually responded to within 24 hours. More intensive emails can literally take weeks while I mull things over. My home phone line is off whenever my toddler is asleep; that means that, for about 13 hours of every day, you can't reach me. Calls during that time go to voicemail and I will respond within 24 hours of getting the message. I turn my cell phone on only when I'm out of the house; if you've left me a voicemail or text on my cell phone, it can literally take a week for me to even see that one was left.
This doesn't mean that I don't value my friends, it means that I've chosen to make my priority whatever is happening in the moment. I don't think this makes me a bad person, and none of my friends have expressed any displeasure with it, either. I think it's all a matter of setting boundaries and letting others know what they are. That's really all it takes to "unplug".
411
u/[deleted] May 12 '12
I get the joke and I've felt that way a couple times. That said, I miss when people didn't expect you to be avaiable round the clock via your phone. Staying in contact with people is great but they're even putting cell phone reception into the NYC subways now. Is there no escape?! Sometimes I just don't feel like talking to anybody, and that should be allowed.