Pet Peeve: Children only calling when they are in the car

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by marino760

It comes down to priorities. Didn't almost all of us juggle a career, raise a child and have a social life in our younger days without making calls while driving? These things you mentioned aren't new, not one bit new.

Did you also juggle the expectation of being connected to work at night/weekends? Hour+ commutes each way to affordable housing? Shuttling the kids around far-flung suburbs with no sidewalks or public transit? That's the reality for myself, my brother, and most of my cousins. Our pace of life is much different than our parents at our age, and way different than our grandparents.



I mostly call older relatives from the car. I work 60+ hours a week, have at least an hour commute each way, and often don't get home until 7:30 or 8. I get home, check work email, put out any fires that need to be put out, start dinner, and hopefully am eating dinner by 9 p.m. I grew up thinking it was rude to call people after 9 unless it's an emergency. Then I'm in bed to start it all over again. Weekends are time to do all the things I can't do during the week, like cleaning, grocery shopping, errands, etc.



It would be nice to have time for lengthy phone calls with elderly relatives, but it's just not feasible most of the time. If someone would like to speak to me on the phone for more than a 5 minute stretch, doing it in the car is the best shot.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by carnivalday

Not even close. People in the car are way more distraction than a phone call. Distraction to the point of being dangerous. I will do everything I can do to not drive with people in my car. Driving while talking on a Bluetooth is nothing compared to people yacking in the car, reading their phones, reacting to texts...nope, not for me.

You may feel this way for yourself personally, but the evidence is otherwise.

https://theconversation.com/why-usin...nds-free-71833

Fans of hands-free calls may also argue that such conversations are no different to those held with a passenger in the car. The evidence, however, begs to differ. One big difference between in-car and mobile phone conversations is that the passenger can see what the driver sees. If the driver is trying to enter a fast-flowing motorway from a slip road, the passenger might, quite sensibly, shut up for a minute until the manoeuvre is complete.

The remote conversationalist, however, has no access to this “shared visual space”, and may continue talking throughout. Indeed, evidence suggests that if the driver becomes quiet at times of high demand, the remote partner may increase their level of communication to fill the silent, social void.

[Jo48]

My older daughter always calls when she is at work. She works Retail Security. Last night we were on the phone for almost an hour while she was undercover on the floor.

Many times at work she will say hold on, or I'll call you back after I have to deal with this at work.

[JOinGA]

My daughter usually calls me from the car while she is driving the 6 miles from the commuter bus parking lot to home, but the conversations often extend past her pulling into her driveway and getting into her house. I would rather she call me than not call me.