Screening your calls, are you guilty as charged? Do you feel guilty when do it?

Yeah I screen calls, but I don’t feel guilty, it’s only usually aquaintances, people I know on a superficial level.

I usually check the caller ID, but I also usually answer as long as it is someone I know. I feel no guilt whatsoever about not answering the phone, under whatever circumstances I choose. If I got 6 calls in a day, at least 5 of them would be telemarketers, so I would certainly not answer them.

I definitely screen calls. That’s the reason I have an answering machine. I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty, either. If it’s a bank or a telemarketer, I don’t feel obliged to let them interfere with my relaxation time at home.

I do it, if I dont answer I don’t feel guilty. People can’t just expect me to drop everything to talk about whatever nonsense has occured to them.
Although I expect THEM to drop everything to talk about whatever nonsense has occured to ME when I call them.
Complicated creatures aren’t we?

@scotsbloke you are a true honest person! The older i get the more i hate talking on the phone but i freak out if i am trying to find someone and they dont pick up and i need them!!!! I am even guilty as charged as sometimes i Dont pick up to my boyfriend if I am in a rush and i know he just wants to blah !!!

When you owe as much as I do on medical bills- you learn to screen calls in your sleep.

@chian – One thing I have learned the past 42 years is it’s actually easier to be honest, especially when you’ve got a rubbish memory!

I actually dont like answering the phone at all (we spoke aboutit last month here on Fluther) but have trained myself to do it if there’s no-one else to take the call, I have a little routine I go through in my head. I dont mind making calls though.

There’s so many Spam calls these days it makes sense to screen them.

I do screen calls but I actually fell good about it – the only reasons I don’t pick up on friends have to do with me being unable to give them an appropriate amount of time or because I’m putting the babies to sleep. I know that I will call them back when I am ready to give them my full attention even it’s a day after.

I screen and I do not feel bad about it. I never answer calls from blocked or unknown numbers. If I don’t feel like talking, I don’t answer, no matter who it is (except the wife). If it’s important they’ll leave a message.

@scotsbloke esp when people call just to blab and have nothing productive to ssay!!! i much prefer to see person face to face!!!!

Another one just came in, so, I turned off all of the ringers. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message. The kicker is, they know that I’m sick (most likely in bed), yet, they still keep calling.

Not only do I screen them but I white list them with a silent ring tone for calls who aren’t in my address book. I figure if it’s that important they’ll leave a message. Needless to say I don’t feel guilty about it in the slightest.

I love caller ID and yes I would screen my calls if I could just get someone to call me :(

I almost never screen, but I do ignore the phone ringing if I am not in the mood to pick it up, but most of the time I don’t have any idea who is calling.

The culture has shifted. Although we’re always connected, we can choose when we want to be engaged. I get to decide when to answer emails, responds to txts, voicemails, and phone calls. I know people from the old school who will run across the house or the yard to answer the phone whenever it rings.

I always screen and never feel guilty. In my mind, a phone is a tool to make my life easier when I need it, not an obligation.

I feel absolutely no guilt whatsoever. The caller is impinging on my time. And when I make a call or send an email or whatever, I realize I’m doing the same and that the other party has the right to see/speak/respond to me or not as they wish.

No, I don’t feel guilty because it’s usally a telemarketer. I may feel guilty, though, if I screen a family member.

@Cruiser Gimme your number. I’ll call you. ;-)

@scotsbloke NOW I know why you aren’t picking up the phone. sob

I most definitely don’t feel guilty about not answering the phone. As tinyfaery said, anything that comes across the caller ID that I don’t know, I let the machine pick it up. Lately, tho, I’ve been calling numbers back to see who they are. Then the next time they call. I pick up & tell them to get this number off their list. I did this a couple days ago with the American Lung Ass’n. It’s a good cause, but leave me alone on the phone!

I always screen. I never feel guilty. If the caller is a friend or family, I call back within 24 hours. Someone called me locally yesterday and it turned out to be a fund raiser for one of our two senators.

I do it, and I don’t feel guilty about screening business callers, many of whom are selling a service and don’t know me from Adam. But I do feel bad when I don’t accept a call at home from someone I know. It’s just that sometimes at home i just don’t want my privacy interrupted. Also, I customarily don’t take calls from anybody after 10:30 or 11.

I always screen my calls and I don’t feel guilty. Just because I have a phone doesn’t mean that I always want to speak to people. In fact, I did it this morning when my mother called. At that particular time I just couldn’t be bothered. I always try to call them back a bit later if I have ignored a call but I don’t want to be a slave to the phone and if you can say something in a text message then please do! The only person I never ignore calls from is my boyfriend because I always want to hear his voice. Yeah, I know puke

Blocked numbers get the boot no questions asked – a pet peeve of mine.

If the call is important enough, they’ll leave a message…otherwise, guess it wasn’t that important ;)

Lastly, the biggest pet peeve…don’t call me, leave a message, then in the message say “Give me a call.” WTF for?! Petty as it seems, I need to know the reason for the call, even if it’s just “hey, feel like hollering at ya, hit me back.”

@sndfreQ I know how you feel! My husband used to do that. It’s the biggest pain because when there is a VM you need to check, every time you go to make or receive a call you get this three beeps that interrupt you, telling you there’s a VM! I asked him not to do that any more, but he kept forgetting…until I did it to him a few times!

I always look at the caller ID- I don’t pick up for toll free numbers or blocked/out of area calls. Or numbers I don’t recognize. If it’s important they’ll leave a message. I pick up for family & friends. No guilt here!

GOD BLESS CALLER ID!

My sister and I email when we don’t feel like protracted conversations. She lives four miles away. One of her useful mantras is, “Bad news travels fast.”

I hate to say it, but, the one that irritates me the most is a brother of mine. I love him dearly, but, he calls often and usually is in a Debbie Downer mood. He called twice this morning and I didn’t pick up. A few minutes ago, I was in my kitchen, when out of the corner of my eye I could see the phone flashing. I checked the caller ID and it was him (3rd time). I decided to pick up. I told him that I’m not answering anymore calls today; that I’m turning off the ringer, so, don’t bother calling (this was all said rather nicely :)). He knows that I’m quite sick and said that he would try me later tonight. Pfft.

I’d rather Fluther than talk on the phone today…:)

I do…sometimes I won’t even go to the phone to see who it is.Unless I am expecting a call,I don’t feel obligated to pick it up.

While the telephone has become something of a necessity in our society, my availability to anyone that calls me at any time of the day or night has not. I am available at my convenience. I love the convenience of caller ID/voice messaging combination. As far as returning a message – If I don’t know who it is or what it’s about, forget it. I think one of the most presumptive messages goes something like this:

“Hello, this is (name), calling about an important business matter. It is important that you return my call.”

I only feel guilty when it is someone I haven’t talked to in a bit and I choose not to answer it.

@wonderingwhy How do you do that with the silent ringtone? I’d love to be able to “silence” some people!

I certainly do. Although, I think my phone may be a little broken, since sometimes calls aren’t coming through at all, people are getting a tad annoyed.

I feel it’s better than picking up the phone to find out who it is, and then hanging up when you do.

Yes I do screen my calls. If a number comes in I don’t recognize then I let it go to voicemail. It’s near impossible for me to talk on the phone during my work hours and when not at work then I’m either asleep or spending time with my partner so I communicate more through texts which can be answered when it’s more convenient and private.

I’m guilty of ignoring both business and personally calls, all waste of time mostly. No, I don’t feel guilty. I actually feel proud of my self defense of sensory over load

I definitely screen my calls. Partly because there are times when I’m just not in the mood for a 2 hour conversation with my grandmother and partly because I don’t want to go over on my minutes if it’s someone I can call back after 9 pm.