Hearing the Call
Can we talk?
Not if you’re using Slydial.
As its name suggests, Slydial subverts the process of calling someone on their cell phone by routing the caller directly to the recipient’s voicemail. The service bypasses the usual ringing that alerts an incoming call, and thereby negates the chance—or risk—of having a conversation. A new message appears, but only after the fact.
Slydial describes the feat as “the illusion of communication without the hassle of engaging in a time-consuming conversation.” The company’s suggested uses for the service include these for college students: “breaking up with a significant other…juggling a hectic dating life…or calling home for cash.”
While there are other uses for Slydial—it’s good for shy people, someone pointed out, and for legitimately not interrupting the recipient—many question whether a tool that encourages users to avoid direct communication is a responsible use of technology.
“Talk, that most valuable human asset, is shunned,” explained a communications professor. “If these are the technology’s primary uses, it brings with it a world where conversation and community take a back seat to one’s immediate wants—a world where ‘me’ trumps ‘we.’”
A 26-year-old woman who used Slydial to break up with a man she’d been dating explained, “Text messaging someone ‘I would prefer not to see you again’ is really not my style. But at the same time, I wanted to avoid an awkward conversation.”
Some say a new trend has emerged: We are constantly just missing one another—on purpose, and are more interested in “broadcasting” information than in true conversational give-and-take.
“When I was growing up,” lamented one critic, “when the phone rang in the house, it was a big deal. You would have to get up to go answer the phone. And then you would have to stand next to the phone, because the phone was attached to the wall. You didn’t know who it was before you answered it. That was the exciting part. Who was calling? Will it be for me? Will it be a boy? Will it be Grandma calling long distance?
“Now the phone rings and you think, ‘Shoot, more talking. I’ve had enough talking. Can’t they just email?’”
Tell us what you think: Is it irresponsible to make a technological end-run around someone to avoid a difficult conversation? Where does our responsibility to talk to someone begin and end? Are we becoming a society more interested in “me” than “we”?
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Comments
It's a variation ...
Come on, its a variation on basic voicemail. Those saying breaking up using this have obviously not ever heard of a dear john letter? How impersonal is a break-up letter?
This can be a good or bad thing. I can see both good and bad. At any rate, I think its up to the user as to how they use this service.
celeste | 1 year, 4 months ago
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What about Slydial?
What about Slydial? Every single phone already has this feature built in — just dial # when you hear ringing and it puts you through to voicemail (at least Verizon works this way). Slydial is selling (in a way) a re-labeled service that is free. They get money from advertisers for a service already provided by the phone company (I haven’t really done my research; I’m assuming that Slydial is a separate entity). This encourages the addition of advertisement based revenue generation on top of the existing telephone system more money for the company, which is good right now phones are like television without commercials, users pay a fee which supports the companies who supply the service. The Slydial approach is inserting a commercial before each use of a specific service. Maybe expanding this to include other services would be a good thing for people who wouldn’t mind a few ads in exchange for a reduced phone bill. On the other hand others may see an increase in their bill if they want to keep their telephone use ad-free.
Anyway, I was just thinking about that.
m virts | 11 months ago
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better off...
If you got dumped this way, it would be a blessing. someone who would do that obviously has no character and isn’t worth wasting time with.
kate montclair | 11 months ago
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Cell phones
It is a shame to see where society has become now days.Most of the people I know want to always communicate via phone or text eventhough they might just be 15min. away from wher I live.I personally think that if you are in a relatioship and your significant other does not want to communicate with you in person there is something beyond that.I have been involved with someone that is in the service and I completely understand if he’s away in an other city or country but is rediculious when he’s in town and all he does is text all day and only call if I ask him to do so,just as I refer to this being rediculious and unfair to me I’ve try many ways to make understand that this is only hurting our relationship if it can be call that.
nadia aguirre | 3 months ago
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