Quote Originally Posted by indysteel View Post
What I don't get--and this is only partly related to cell phones--is how many personal phone calls some people make and receive during the workday. When did it become the norm for everybody and their brother to chat throughout the day? Several people I work with spend half the day on the phone with their spouse, friends, children, etc. I very rarely make or receive personal calls during the day. It just seems like a lot of things can and should be discussed at home after work. To me, it's just another example of how self involved people have become.
Funny, in my office personal (and business, for that matter) calls went significantly out of fashion as email gradually took over. Internally we also used Yahoo IM a lot, to chat about work (and occasionally non-work stuff). Even my manager IM'd me often and hardly ever called. My co-workers and I had some serious laugh-fests when using the various funny animated emoticons and chatting back and forth. But you hardly every heard anyone's phone ringing or overheard personal phone calls in the last few years!

Of course, digital communications may be more prevalent in tech workplaces -- I was a software engineer (now retired).