I remember a time when people were reachable by location. You could call me at home and reach me early mornings (but that's rude), evenings, or weekends. Or at work at my desk.
This was a time when toll charges were high enough that unsolicited calls were something of a rarity. That's definitely changed (and lack of caller-ID on landlines is all but unbearable now).
There was even a time when answering machines didn't exist -- can't reach someone? Try later or send a letter. Not email, a letter.
Amazingly, we got by.
The conceit that I've got to be reachable by every unintelligibly accented stranger on a crap VOIP line anywhere on the planet at any time has gotten old.
And yes, if I don't aggressively guard my access, I do get a lot of crap phone calls.
Perhaps I've just gotten lucky with sales calls, and either have few friends or courteous friends. I get one sales call a month, from my university alumni association, which I ignore. I talk on the phone or FaceTime with family approximately weekly, but that's on the weekend, and planned casually through email or SMS before hand. The vast majority of my communication with friends is asynchronous through email/Facebook/Twitter or semi-asynchronous through instant messaging, neither of which provide real-time distraction.
If you've signed on to the Do Not Call registry and/or have a cell phone, it's not so bad.
An established residence over time (a few decades) and various other marketing-database-entry events, and it's a pretty constant annoyance, in my experience.
Problem I've got with chat over phones is that the keyboards stink.
Totally agree. The most egregious violators of such calls are recruiters. Put your phone number on a resume and submit it to a few sites, assuming you work in IT, and they will call non-stop. Sometimes, I refuse the call and they keep calling back a few more times. Nowadays, I only pick up calls from people I recognize. Google has started to provide "caller ID" for many businesses that don't have it now, which helps also.
Worst was the guy who called, I dismissed him with "not interested <click>". He called back. And chewed me out.
SRSLY?!!!
I patiently (?) explained that his first call was a waste of both our time. And the second far worse than that. But I'd be more than happy to spread his and his employer's name over teh Intarnets.
This was a time when toll charges were high enough that unsolicited calls were something of a rarity. That's definitely changed (and lack of caller-ID on landlines is all but unbearable now).
There was even a time when answering machines didn't exist -- can't reach someone? Try later or send a letter. Not email, a letter.
Amazingly, we got by.
The conceit that I've got to be reachable by every unintelligibly accented stranger on a crap VOIP line anywhere on the planet at any time has gotten old.
And yes, if I don't aggressively guard my access, I do get a lot of crap phone calls.