So I have reached the stage of my research where I have to start calling various governmental departments and the like requesting badly-needed information for my thesis. Now I don't like talking on the phone but it is a skill that I have acquired and use when necessary; I mean it was hard to avoid not answer and talking on the phone in the Congresswoman's office. Its just a matter of psyching myself up and sitting down and calling whoever it is I need to call.
In reality, I know that the person of the other side of the phone is a bored intern/receptionist who is just waiting for a call and then that call will be passed on to the appropriate person and that intern dreads the call just as much as I am dreading making it. As a former intern, there was always the possibility that the person on the other end is some angry constituent demanding to speak to the superior! No one likes those types of calls.
I really think this phone dread also comes from the generation that I grew up with-I was part of the generation that really grew up with technology (each year, there was a new piece of technology to try and integrate easily into our lives) like mac computers, texting, the iphone, etc. The generation after me is even more connected with technology. They literally grow up using technology from day 1. There is that over reliance on non-personal connection with other people-we use technology as proxies for actual communication with real people.
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