WHY do people send voice notes? Gen Z says audio is more personal than texts

Voice notes have become the new way to communicate, especially among Gen Z, who say that sending audio is more personal than texting, which can sometimes confuse the meaning, and phone calls can trigger their anxiety.

The messages, called “voice notes” or “voice texts,” are short audio recordings that people send to each other, and have been around for years in WhatsApp and Apple’s iMessages, but have been growing in popularity lately.

People are increasingly seeing them appear in group chats and even on dating apps, such as Hinge and Bumble.

According to a recent YouGov survey conducted by Vox, 62 percent of Americans say they have sent a voice message, and about 30 percent communicate by voice message weekly, daily, or several times a day. And 43 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds who responded to the survey said they use the feature at least weekly.

The audio feature has also appeared on dating apps – first on Hinge in 2021, with the number of voice notes increasing by 37 percent between January and February 2023 compared to the same period in 2022

The use of the voice note technology may have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as those isolated at home longed for social interaction by hearing the voices of their loved ones.

There are several studies that have shown that people feel more socially connected when you communicate via voice message instead of SMS.

“There’s a fundamental mode of communication that connects people and their social needs, and that’s hearing a voice,” Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Texas-Austin, told NPR.

HoweverKumar says his research suggests that “asynchronous” forms of communication, such as voice notes, which don’t require back-and-forth dialogue, cannot replace the benefits of “synchronous” conversations, which allow us to pick up linguistic cues. to have a more seamless, responsive conversation.

WhatsApp, which has been using the voice notes for years, said last year users sent 7 billion voice messages on the app.

The audio feature will also appear on dating apps — first on Hinge in 2021, with the number of voice notes increasing by 37 percent between January and February 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, a spokesperson said. Axios.

As remote work continued, voice notes were added to work chat platforms including Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Voice notes have become increasingly popular over the past year, especially with the younger generation who grew up in front of screens.

WhatsApp, which has been using the voice notes for years, said last year users sent 7 billion voice messages on the app

Voice notes have become increasingly popular over the past year, especially with the younger generation who grew up in front of screens

Many Gen Zers say that the voice note is what makes tone and mood come across, which doesn’t always happen in a text. So why not just call someone? The idea of ​​interrupting someone with a phone call frightens many people.

Instead, people can get out what they want to say without fear of being disturbed themselves.

The notes let you “get whatever you want to say without being disturbed” and “let your mind wander,” Trinity Alicia, a 23-year-old program coordinator at Boston University, told Axios.

Alicia said she relies on voice notes to keep in touch with her boyfriend who lives in a different time zone, as well as friends across the country.

Jim Broderick, a 22-year-old consultant in Washington, D.C., told Axios that with the voice notes, he’s more likely to listen and pay attention than when a group chat blows up his phone with texts he needs to read and analyze.

“This can be tough,” Broderick said when he gets a voice note. “It makes stories feel more real, and it makes me feel closer to it [the sender]. It just lands better when I hear someone’s voice.’

Some people use the audio recordings on dating apps to help decide whether to swipe left or right

Hearing someone’s voice allows people to pick up on “paralinguistic cues,” which cannot be done through text, Vox reported. The signals can talk loudly when excited or change tone when conveying sarcasm

However, there are some drawbacks to the form of communication, such as listening and paying attention to long messages, which can be difficult if you are on the move in a busy environment or in a meeting, or can also be annoying if the recording goes on.

“I absolutely despise when people use voice notes instead of plain old texting,” Talla Kuperman, a jewelry designer in her early 40s, told The Wall Street Journal.

After receiving drawn-out voice notes, she thinks that some of them, in the absence of universal etiquette for them, are far too time-consuming. “I actually think it’s very selfish,” she said.

Like it or not, experts say there’s a scientific reason why people prefer voice messages over texts in some situations.

Hearing someone’s voice can help people pick up “paralinguistic cues,” which can’t be done through text, Vox reported. The signals can talk loudly when excited or change tone when conveying sarcasm.

“Even though paralinguistic cues can be subtle, they are ‘humanizing’ reminders that the person you’re listening to is ‘a thoughtful, soulful person,'” said Juliana Schroeder, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Schroder’s study found that when people listen to someone speak rather than read their writing, they perceive them as more “mentally capable”—reasonable, emotional, and sympathetic.

It has also shown that people are more likely to have “empathic accuracy” when they hear rather than read what they say, which makes them more relatable to the person.