You understand that society did just fine for thousands of years without these things right? Maybe if you are 20 the social norms have changed so drastically that calling someone is unthinkable but I rather doubt that. Certainly for my generation and above ('84) it's not required.
We used to have to call[1] several people to organize a gathering/outing, in the distant past of 15 years ago. If someone wasn't home you just had to try again later and/or leave a message, which they would only hear when they got home. Maybe every now and then someone would miss something because of this, though not often. Shockingly, it worked just fine.
[1] from our homes, obviously, since that's where the phone is, unless you were one of the rare high school students carrying a cellphone that had a usable amount of minutes on it, and even then cell call quality was (is...) so crap that you'd prefer your home phone.
While I generally agree with your sentiment, FWIW I'm a 25-year-old and I haven't answered a non-work phone call in several years. If friends/family want to contact me, they can send an IM or leave a voicemail and hope I call voicemail in the next week or two.
I haven't even had the sound/vibrate on my phone turned on for about a year now (which, honestly, is probably the most liberating decision I've made since then), as there's nothing in my life that can't wait however long it is until I check my phone next.
I am pushing 40 and everything is planned on Facebook now. That's the main reason I have an FB account, to keep up with events. The secondary reason is to keep up with conversations people are having on there, at the events they're planning on there.
In the past most people never went outside the 20 mile radius where they were born. keeping up with friends around the globe is a lot easier using social media
