Let's talk. Not.

People just aren't talking anymore. I let Google pick up my voice mail, and it tries to transcribe it, with about a 50 percent success rate. That's enough to let me know what's up. So I have fewer buttons to push -- and fewer people to talk to.

People are switching from voicing to texting in such numbers that wireless carriers are considering switching to unlimited plans to keep revenue up. 

They have reason to worry: the average length of a local call has fallen more than 50% over the last decade to around 1.8 minutes, according CTIA, The Wireless Association. The only time certain people bring the phone to their ear may be to avoid talking to those around them, studies show. Some 13% of people in a Pew Research Center survey said they actually pretend to be on their phones in order to avoid “unwanted personal interactions.” 

Instead, adults have joined the ranks of teenagers and now let their thumbs do the talking. 

One-in-three Americans said they’d rather text than call, according to a 2011 study by Pew Research Center. In fact, the survey found that Americans send an average of 41 texts a day – with those aged 19-25 sending an average of 110 texts a day. Wolfgang Luckmann, a Yulee, Fla.-based acupuncturist, treats patients with “thenar tendinitis,” an inflammation of tissues in the thumb mainly due to incessant texting: “In the old days, people had neck spasms from talking on the phone. Now, they’re getting this.”

People used to deliver good news by phone. These days, they’re just as likely to brag about their kids in a Facebook status update. Why? It reaches more people and it’s less time-consuming. 

Mostly, however, why should you want to listen to them pretend to care?

Using Google to record a phone call

The New York Times explains how:

First, Google can only record calls you receive via Google Voice, not those you dial out yourself. Second, Google announces to all parties that the call is being recorded, so you can’t use it to trap  callers. (Recording a call without the consent of all parties is illegal in some states. Recording a call without anyone on the call knowing it is a federal crime.)



To set up call recording, you must create a Google Voice account. If you’ve already got a Gmail or an iGoogle account, you can use your existing user name and password. Or, you can create one when you first use Google Voice with your browser. The service will give you a Google phone number, with an  area code that may differ from the one on your phone. Then, it will prompt you for a cellphone or land line number where incoming calls to your Google number will be forwarded.

Recording is easy. At any time during an incoming call, press 4 on your phone. A lady’s voice will announce to everyone on the call, “This call is now being recorded.” Continue with your call. After you hang up, Google Voice, whose interface looks a lot like Gmail, will create an inbox entry for the recorded call. You can click to play it in your browser, or download it to your computer as a plain old MP3 file. It’s a lot easier than trying to take notes while you talk, and – provided your caller doesn’t mind being recorded – it’s much less disruptive.