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0 pointsdkersten5y ago0 comments

> Why do people prefer sending chat texts instead of calling or video calling?

This isn't universally true. I (unfortunately, for me, since I hate it personally) know plenty of people who prefer voice or video calls. I even have people who will reply with voice recordings to my text messages.

Many people prefer voice or video.

I prefer text because of two main reasons:

1. Its asynchronous. I can reply as needed while not being disturbed if I happen to be in the middle of something.

2. Its not real time. That is, I can take my time to form my response. I can proof read, edit, clearly form my thoughts etc. In a voice/video recording, editing is difficult, in a live setting, I'm under more time pressure to finish my sentences rather than thinking about them more.

I don't prefer text because of technology reasons, except those that make text more asynchronous and easier to proof read and edit.

But many people I know or have interacted with hate text and prefer voice or video.

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danShumway5y ago

There's a lot of selectivity happening on this post. Nobody here has worked in an office where the management prefer video calls instead of Slack messaging? I've seen no shortage of people on HN argue that this kind of text-based communication is inferior to video calls or screen shares when solving tech problems.

It seems pretty obvious to me that text, video, audio, and images are good for different things, and that diversity is reflected in the ecosystem. There isn't a universal trend towards or away from text, not really. People are making fewer voice calls, but they're also consuming more content on Youtube instead of on blogs. They're also moving a lot of their social life onto platforms like TikTok and Instagram, which are primarily video/image.

I don't see a universal trend here in either direction. I think people are cherry-picking a couple of isolated trends or points and making really broad, generalized statements that aren't warranted.

The whole idea of picking a "best" medium here is silly anyway. It's childish, in the same way that people used to argue about whether books, movies, or games were the 'best' artistic medium. Different mediums are good for different things.

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