![]() “If you’re broaching a sensitive topic, a lot can get lost in translation over text. Text messages don’t convey emotional nuance in the same way a voice note can, Maddy says. “It’s like a phone call, except you don’t have to rely on both parties being free at the same time. ‘It’s like a phone call, except you don’t have to rely on both parties being free at the same time’ Photograph: Amit Lennon/The Guardianįor voice note fan, model and digital editor Maddy Reid, 23, who sends 10 to 50 a day over WhatsApp, much of their appeal lies in how efficient they are to send, particularly when you’re on the move. Social media comments range from mundane observations like the Twitter user who got 142.6 likes for pointing out how often she ends a voice note with “so yeah”, to more impassioned rants on voice note etiquette. They are beloved of younger generations, but older family members seem to find them baffling. Another, who pushes a pram, says they’re indispensable. One friend calls them “the worst thing to happen to communication since the ‘seen’ receipt on messenger”. Yet for something seemingly so inoffensive, voice notes are incredibly divisive. Voice notes gives women an avenue to speak in the same way men do – without fear of being cut off or dismissed In 2018, American singer Charlie Puth felt passionate enough about voice notes to name an album after them and on her latest release, 30, Adele took this tribute a step further by including voice notes from her son, Angelo, in the track My Little Love. Last month, dating website String launched with the tag line “Date with your voice”. Twitter has introduced a voice note feature, as have dating apps Hinge, Bumble and Happn. Instead of a simple “I’ll meet you outside the station” text, friends now send long rambles about how they were going to catch such and such train, but then they realised the bus would drop them outside, and while they were on the bus they thought about this idea for a novel … It’s like having to sit through an unedited podcast. When WhatsApp introduced them in 2013, receiving a voice note felt like a novelty – something more human in a sea of emojis and abbreviations – now, around 200 million are sent every month. But, whether I use voice notes or not, among my peers they are becoming ever harder to avoid. This recent encounter will forever remind me why I’m better off texting (like most twentysomething Gen Zs, I hate phone calls, with their awkward silences and long, drawn-out endings: “Yep, speak soon, good to chat, bye, love you, yeah bye, bye, bye …”). In a last-ditch attempt to salvage the unsalvageable, I changed the subject: “Do you like Drake’s new album?” It was clumsy, obvious, and from then on he ignored me. I imagined him raising his eyebrows on the other end of the line. I should have deleted the recording but I was so panicked I forgot I could do that. I only lasted about 10 minutes before I limped off.”Īround 200 million voice mails are sent every month. In response to his “How was your day?” I started telling him about the bike I had just got. So I focused on getting comfy, and pushed the record button. But don’t voice notes feel so much more intimate? Hearing the subtleties of the other person’s speech, as if they were whispering in your ear – and I wanted to get closer to him. ![]() My stomach fluttered because I knew this meant he wanted to get closer to me, yet I also freaked out because there was so much pressure to get my response right.Īt first, I ignored the switch in communication and started typing out a message, because I hate my voice – the way I can hear my nerves prickle through my speech, the high pitch of my intonation and the number of times I say “like”. It was the first time I’d heard his voice – it was flat, low and attractive. My phone buzzed and I picked it up to respond to my crush’s last text – except this time it wasn’t a text, but a voice note, a short audio file you send via Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp. ![]() ![]() I lay on my bedroom carpet looking at the blue of the ceiling, feeling like I was in a teen movie. ![]()
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