Categories: Archives

Cell phone voicemail inefficient, annoying

Did you ever have one of those moments – perhaps while standing in line at the Sub… Did you ever have one of those moments – perhaps while standing in line at the Sub Connection or while stuck in traffic at the Squirrel Hill tunnel – that minutes of your life were just slipping away? At these times, we usually accept the fact with a resigned “whatever,” readjust our backpacks or shift into park, and prepare ourselves for the long wait ahead. After all, lines have existed since the beginning of the universe and they can’t really be avoided.

What really messes with my mind, however, is how technological innovations, meant to facilitate daily life, are so poorly designed – and so time consuming. I’m talking about voicemail.

I’m no stranger to stupid, believe me, but voicemail just takes the cake. There are some things in the world that are impossible to screw up, and I wouldn’t have figured that a voice message system would be one of them. Home telephone answering machines have been around for decades and adequately fulfill their purpose with a single sentence: “Hi, I’m not here right now, so leave a message.”

Sometime since then, the “societies advance with time” theory went horribly wrong.

With voicemail, I’m greeted by a five minute introduction – “The. Person. You. Have. Dialed

Pitt News Staff

Share
Published by
Pitt News Staff

Recent Posts

Photos: Pennsylvania candidates host dueling watch parties

Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick and Democratic Attorney General candidate Eugene DePasquale both held watch…

1 hour ago

Photos: Pitt women’s basketball downs Canisius 82-71

Pitt women’s basketball takes down Canisus 82-71 to kick off their season at the Petersen…

2 hours ago

Panthers on Politics

In this episode of Panthers on Politics, Ruby and Piper interview Josh Minsky from the…

4 hours ago

City Couture | City Girl Fall

In this edition of “City Couture,” staff writer Marisa Funari talks about fall and winter…

4 hours ago

Meaning at the Movies | I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for “Scream”

In this edition of “Meaning at the Movies,” staff writer Lauren Deaton explores how “Scream”…

4 hours ago

Don’t Be a Stranger | Inked

In this edition of Don’t Be a Stranger, staff writer Sophia Viggiano discusses tattoos, poems,…

4 hours ago