Both the surprise phone call and the scheduled phone call fill me with dread. The phrase “I’ll give you a ring at 7” translates, for me, to me needing to block out an hour of my evening, meaning I can’t relax or complete the other elements of my routine until it’s over. It’s not unlike the way I approach a dreaded presentation or meeting at work.

This hatred of phone calls has crept up on me over the years, which seems strange in contrast to my eagerness to be in a constant state of communication with others in my teenage years. I vividly remember spending a full day at school with a group of friends, parting ways physically for a speedy 10-minute walk home, and then settling in for a long evening speaking to the same friends on MSN. This would be paused only for a two-hour catch up on the phone (pre-mobile) with the same people I’d been in touch with all day.

The thought of this literally exhausts me now. I’ve definitely become more introverted as I’ve gotten older, partially due to tiredness (or exhaustion when I’m being dramatic) after work. A phone call when I’ve just gotten in the door, when all I want to do is have a bath and make dinner, unnerves me.

I live in a different city, away from my friends and family, which means that any ‘catch up’ is often long and intense. When I know it’s overdue, I can get quite apprehensive: will it still be the same when I speak to them again? Will I have nothing to say? Will they find me boring? Will I find the catch-up boring? Of course, when I do eventually connect with a friend or family member on the phone, it’s a rewarding conversation, and I feel more connected to home.

But I still can’t deny that I feel relieved afterwards, safe in the knowledge that I don’t have to have a phone conversation again for a while.

The great phone debate: are you a texter or talker?