If even grandma responds to a text message with a sound recording, then the voice message has reached mainstream society.
Seven billion voice messages are sent every day via WhatsApp alone. Especially from the boys. 10 to 30 year olds are the driving forces behind this relatively new form of communication. But it’s also becoming increasingly popular with parents and grandparents – with the hands-free generation and those for whom smartphone buttons have always been too small.
Two scientists explain.
The voice message trend reflects our way of life. “As a society, we are becoming increasingly mobile, we travel a lot and communication permeates everyday life,” says Aleksandra Gnach, professor of media linguistics at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
The effect is a decoupling of sending and receiving. The voice message is delayed. This has benefits for both parties. It gives you the opportunity to say something when you have time, such as when you are waiting for the train. The recipient, in turn, has the freedom to listen to the message when he has time.
“For a phone call, on the other hand, I have to concentrate, I can speak on the go and interrupt voice messages if I have to buy a ticket, for example,” says Gnach. And then it’s easier to explain a complicated fact through a voice message than in a long text message.
The young generation is tired of the telephone for a long time. The fact that certain young people do not like to use the telephone goes so far as to not really use this cultural technique in their education. They are no longer used to revealing themselves as in a telephone conversation.
A survey by a UK mobile phone provider found that 6% of young people between 18 and 24 surveyed would not even call, even in an emergency, but would send a voice message.
The background of all this development is the so-called distance communication, which has spread through the Internet, such as: Christa Dürscheid, linguist at the German department of the University of Zurich, say. “You write an email to the colleague from work sitting next door in the office instead of going there and talking face-to-face.”
Young people did not meet with a phone call, but with WhatsApp. As a result, we often communicate without seeing the other, says Dürscheid. “We don’t see facial expressions, not when someone smiles or frowns.” Despite the emoji arsenal, misunderstandings often arise.
On the other hand, voice messages can help clear up misunderstandings. In this sense, they are “actually a return to the original form of communication, as it is linked again to the voice,” says Dürscheid.
However, unlike text messages, voice messages cannot be received in almost every situation, ie overheard. If you want to reach someone urgently, the text message is still recommended.
In countries with a lower level of literacy, voice messages are even more widespread than in Switzerland. The sound recording also makes communication accessible to people who can hardly read and write. Gnach mentions Bhutan as an example, where communication mainly takes place via messenger apps. “When people work in the city, they can stay connected to their community.”
Gnach and Dürscheid see the speech message primarily as an extension of the communication repertoire. “The more you can choose, the more you can go wrong,” says Gnach. Communication skills are required and you don’t just learn them. “Unfortunately, such everyday skills get little or no attention in school.”
Depending on where you are, a voice or text message is more appropriate, Gnach says. “It also depends on who the message is for, what relationship you have with that person.”
Unlike a phone call, a voice message is a short monologue, usually with longer individual sequences than SMS communication. Doesn’t that inevitably lead to gossip?
Partly yes, says Gnach. “In an equal communication situation, where you can’t see how the addressee is responding, how much time she has to listen, and so on, you don’t see the response and so you can’t adjust your speech contribution to the situation.”
According to Dürscheid, this is also a matter of media competence. “You know in advance that I’m going to speak now, so you have to think about what to say and what not to say.”
But voice messages are often a small spectacle, a staging, says Dürscheid. Apparently background noises are casually sent along, people cough or blow their noses. The self-portrait is part of the message – in this respect too, the voice message is the channel of choice for the Tiktok generation.
What do you think of the voice messages? Write to us through the comment function whether you are one of the haters or heavy users who talk a lot in their smartphones.
(aargauerzeitung.ch)
Source: Watson
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
On the same day of the terrorist attack on the Krokus City Hall in Moscow,…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/4Residents of Tenerife have had enough of noisy and dirty tourists.It's too loud, the…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/7Packing his things in Munich in the summer: Thomas Tuchel.After just over a year,…
At least seven people have been killed and 57 injured in severe earthquakes in the…
The American space agency NASA would establish a uniform lunar time on behalf of the…
class="sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc">1/8Bode Obwegeser was surprised by the earthquake while he was sleeping. “It was a…