Phone ettiquette

After I got my cell phone when I first arrived in Shanghai last year I realized that people here does not believe in voice mail. It is not available in the standard package of your cell phone contract; if you had voice mail nobody will use it anyway. The longer that I am here the more I realized the reason for this. When people make a phone call they expect the other person to answer their call. If you commit the mortal sin of shutting off your phone, boy will you get it. People will take it personally if you do not have your cell phone on when they call.

I think the reason that for this is the nature of how things are done here in China. Usually when someone wants something to be done, they want it done right away. Therefore if they were to call somebody on the phone about something, they will not trust the voice mail to deliver their message. They want to personally speak the to other party. I believe that they feel that if they don't convey their message directly to the other party that whatever needs to be done will be delayed.

The cell phone in China is as ubiquitous as it is in America and that is surprising to some extent considering the economics. Cell phones here take up a considerable amount of one's finances; much more than in America. Yet nearly everyone has it. Text messaging is a very popular method of communication as well. The reason is partially economic and partially cowardice. Text messaging is far cheaper than a call, so for the messages that can be conveyed succinctly then text will be the preferred method. The other reason for the popularity of text messaging is the unwillingness to convey awkward messages. Text is a way to dodge the confrontation. I heard of stories in China where relationships have ended via text messaging. I have also heard of people getting fired via text message.

Its interesting to see different cultures utilize the same medium in different ways.