How Do You Decide Who You’ll Call Back Instantly and Who You Won’t?

When you receive an email or voice-mail, do you always respond right away?

In our always on, always available world, it’s almost impossible to ignore a message when it comes in – but do you?

My iPhone will signal the arrival of emails, texts, voice messages, even chat requests instantly. I know even if I have the ringer muted, as I get a little vibration, or even if I turn that off, it’ll still light up and let me know someone wants me to stop everything I’m doing, and pay them some attention.

That’s how it feels in our world of instant communications – that I’m to stop whatever it is I am doing, no matter how important, and check to see who sent me what.

And often I do – I just can’t help myself. I could be watching an amazing movie for the first time, have my fork up to my mouth about to chomp on an incredibly deliciously smelling meal, but I’ll put the fork down, and reach for my iPhone.

The office? Oh, I’ll call them back tomorrow.

It’s so easy to make decisions about who we respond to and who we don’t right away.

The girlfriend? I better take this NOW.

See?

We all do it. Make instant decisions about who we will contact right away, the second they email, text, voice message or send a chat request. And we all know this too.

So when you are the person that doesn’t get called back right away, how do you feel?

Pretty bad uh?

Me too.

It sucks to not be important enough to get an instant return email, call, text or even a quick acknowledgement of existence.

But that happens to us all too.

We are all on someone’s mental list of important enough to call back right away, just as we are all on someone’s mental list of not important enough to call back right away.

Isn’t technology wonderful?

Technology has made a world where we all expect – anticipate even – instantly being in touch with those we want to talk to RIGHT NOW – but we know that doesn’t always happen.

Even though we all know they got that message right away.

What’s that saying, a watched kettle never boils?

Maybe in today’s always on high tech world, a watched phone never rings? Or it’ll ring, but whether or not you choose to answer depends on you.