How do you react when the phone rings?

[Aspieistj]

I am instantly annoyed because I don't want to stop whatever I am doing and work to carry on a conversation when I know most people think I am weird. I live alone and am almost a hermit. I have two adult kids and I usually enjoy talking to them for a few minutes but then, I start searching for the right thins to say or I am simply not interested in whatever they are talking about. I have a older brother in another state and I do love him, but he never has anything interesting to say. Finally, if someone brings up a subject that really interests me I am very likely to take over the conversation and then THEY can't wait to get off the phone. I never text or do anything like social media. Most the stuff I have read on Facebook is totally trite and I can't be bothered with that stuff. There are a few people and forums that I enjoy and I like email because I can read and think and react before I write anything. When I am on the phone I usually play Solitaire for something to do. Guess I am an Aspie, huh?

 

[King_Oni]

There's a reason my phone is either on silent mode or even flight mode.

I rather phone people myself than have others decide when they can eventually interrupt me. I don't do well with any interruptions. And phones are one of those things I can easily turn off (opposed to say; a doorbell).

Most of the time I don't bring my phone around if I leave the house, unless it's necessary to call someone while I'm out. I treat my cellphone pretty much like a landline with the convenience of being able to take it with me if I need it, but surely not as an obligation to be available 24/7. Perhaps I'm a bit of a control freak as well... but I decide when I want to talk to someone, not the other way around. Luckily no one ever argued with me when I didn't answer the phone

And then there are the few times I'm calling friends to discuss some stuff and I know it's a long conversation so it often ends up on speaker phone so I got my hands free to go on with whatever I was doing (aside from watching a movie or listening to music of course).

So in short; I don't react well to ringing phones and therefore, I make sure it won't ring at all.

 

[aj]

If my house phone rings i never answer it, the house phone is downstairs and im always upstairs. I wouldnt answer it due to i dont like leaving my bedroom unless its to have a cigerett or when i have to go to work. I rarely eat meals i have snacks which i can take upstairs. I do have a meal at work but thats really it. Anyways back to the question, if someone rings my mobile and i dont know who it is i do get anxious but if its someone i know very well its fine it does annoy me to get interrupted.

 

[umbrellabeach]

I don't live alone yet so I let someone else answer it. Most of the time it's either a telemarketer or someone asking for someone who doesn't live here, anyway.
I made a meme about the phone ringing (or any other interruption happening) while I'm busy, and once I do live alone, this will be me:

 

[GoofKing]

I have troubles carrying a conversation on the phone and therefore avoid it at all costs I still hate doing those stupid phone interviews with SSI but would rather do that than sit in some waiting room with a bunch of people whom I swear are staring ...

 

[Easter]

Mine is always on silent and I have to keep looking at it, not that I have any friends.

 

[Flinty]

I generally don't hear the phone ring when I'm at home, so usually no reaction at that time. Nasty reactions afterward, though.

Once my father passes away, I'm seriously considering getting rid of any phone whatsoever. If you want to reach me, do it by email.

 

[KassieMac]

My phone is never more than a few feet from me, but don't tell anyone. People say they don't carry a cell phone because it feels like a leash/obligation … I don't feel like that at all. It's the handiest gadget I've ever owned & I won't be without it, but that doesn't mean I'm obligated to answer when it rings. I almost never answer … I prefer to hear their voicemail and call back when I'm ready. Partly because I don't like being caught off-guard, more likely because I'm doing something interesting and the interruption annoys me.

 

[djn]

I sooooo wish I didn't have to have a phone, but work needs to get a hold of me sometimes. Yuck. I'm so glad you started this thread because I hadn't thought about this trait being part of my aspergers. Another relief. I'm not mean, uncarring, or rude. I just don't like interruptions and I see the phone as my tool, for my use.

 

[Rudy Schmidt]

As somebody who only recently found out about having Aspergers, I also hadn't made the connection. But now that you come to mention it, I agree with pretty much everyone above me. I know it's terrible, but I usually thrust the phone (even if it's my own cellphone) into my wife's hands and ask her to answer it for me. I also usually let it go to answermachine and call back when I'm ready.

For the first four years I lived in the USA, before I got my green card, I was under probation from Homeland Security. I was always terrified whenever my phone rang in case it was them, asking me awkward questions and making me freak out and sound suspicious (even though I had no reason to fear them).

 

[zurb]

I don't like the phone (and skype even less so). I'd let my wife handle it, but she's aspie too.
Must say though, those random calls from India about my windows machine sending them error messages can be fun, especially if I can keep them on the line for more than 30 minutes.

 

[Saragrl]

I usually jump since I don't get calls often. If I don't know the number I get anxious. If I am on the phone with some one who I don't speak to often I have no idea what to talk about. Most people ask if I am still there because of the awkward silence. My father is like that too, the rare time I speak to him its 2 minutes talk 15 minutes awkward silence. Most people know just to text me.

Finally, if someone brings up a subject that really interests me I am very likely to take over the conversation and then THEY can't wait to get off the phone.

That is so me if I am doing something I want to share. Sadly no one ever understands what it is I am talking about, but it never stopped me from talking to someone till they "had to go do something".

 

[Aspieistj]

I guess the phone ringing is a kind of surprise and I don't like the suspense of having to find out who the caller is.

 

[djn]

If my house phone rings i never answer it, the house phone is downstairs and im always upstairs. I wouldnt answer it due to i dont like leaving my bedroom unless its to have a cigerett or when i have to go to work. I rarely eat meals i have snacks which i can take upstairs. I do have a meal at work but thats really it. Anyways back to the question, if someone rings my mobile and i dont know who it is i do get anxious but if its someone i know very well its fine it does annoy me to get interrupted.

I'm sorry you're marooned in your room, unless you're okay with it. Sounds safe, but kind of limited to me, but maybe you don't feel that way at all.

 

[aj]

Its ok i love my room its the one place i can get away from everyone and feel so relaxes i enjoy art, computer, gaming and research. Im mostly researching aspies so i might find something which explain something about me that i dont realise. Half a year ago i diddnt have a clue whats wrong with me and lived with confusion, i felt like that most of my life. Since december i researched asperger thanks to a online friend who has it and it explained everything that i was confused about. Plus i always enjoyed being alone because im shore you know that people dont understand us and i find it pointless to be around them. Not only that reason but i also cant be myself around them. I got bullied allott so i learned when i was a kid to copy how cool kids spoke and dressed. I grew up looking up at people as a guide and copying them. But when im alone i can be my complete self, when i use to live with my brother i use to help the poor people that lived there too. I use to earn £830 a month n would buy them fags, food and suffer myself. What im trying to say is that im the kind of person who wouldnt let the people suffer around me. Problem is those people used me and i wasnt aware of it. I resently stopped helping people since because i got used alott without releasing. So i stay away from people because of the bullying and being used. Like every tree i stand alone. ( this saying was from a kids movie i loved when i was a kid and always wanted to be like the blind guy but not being blind. He diddnt like company and had a pet falcon, also the woods was a beautiful and peaceful place. I really liked his life until he fell in love)

 

[Laughingowl1975]

When the phone rings I usually wait for someone else to answer it, I am quite good at holding a conversation but the longer I talk or the more stressed I am the worse my timing gets and I even don't realized that the silence I hear is because I am expected to speak. My thoughts when it rings are usually something like "oh bugger, now what can't I get any peace!" and if we get many calls in a short period of time I feel like taking it off the hook, so I guess I both like and loathe the telephone.

 

[atrocityexhibition]

I screen every call. I return almost all of them, but jumping into a conversation immediately, that someone else has initiated, while I've been doing something else gives me a lot of anxiety.

 

[garnetflower13]

Well when the phone rings, I ALWAYS jump and I hate that. I have a retro phone with a real bell ringer and not these annoying high pitched shrills that most phones are made like nowadays. I love that ringer but from a distance. It sits right next to me in my home office where I spend most of my time. Having said that, I hate it when it rings because I know that I am about to get interrupted. I am usually engrossed in something interesting, so I resent the interruptions. My answering machine has a feature that announces the phone number coming through which was confusing at first, because I couldn't process that info. But now I have sort of memorized the last four digits of familiar callers so that I can decide not to answer if I don't know the number. I don't want to reward telemarketers by answering their calls, either.

 

[Judge]

I always screen EVERY call with caller id. I'm kind of gloating at the moment because the deluge of criminal scammer calling is significantly down. I only pick up and connect if I actually do business or know you. Otherwise I won't even connect to ask why.

Every once in a while I'll run a number like that through the Internet just to see what shows up. Almost always the same story. Unsolicited calls likely spoofed originating from another country.

Very few people ever call me just to socialize with ME.

 

[Jimbo]

!

I feel like this when the phone rings.