The Etiquette Of Voice Notes

Voice messaging can be fun and useful but it can also be annoying and intrusive – here’s how to avoid the most common pitfalls

- Lindsay De Freitas

So how do you feel about voice notes? Do you consider them the best thing since sliced bread – or do you stare at your phone in disgust when you receive one, irritated by the intrusion?

Either way, they’re here to stay – and after the upheaval of the pandemic, they’re more popular than ever.

CNN tech expert Kaya Yurieff says the format has gained new appeal for many over the past year because of our limited opportunities to socialise with friends, family and co-workers.

Pressing the record button on your phone and prattling off a message has helped people feel more in touch, she says – they feel like they’re still speaking to the people in their lives, not simply typing a message into the ether.

Conrad David, founder of Johannesburg-based digital media company Hashtag South Africa, believes the findings of a recent study further explains the medium’s growth.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found the human voice alone is capable of expressing a range of 24 emotions – and each one is capable of being conveyed in a voice message.

“Hearing a person’s message through audio rather than just seeing it relayed in a series of words and emojis makes you feel closer to them,” Conrad says.

“When sending a voice message you don’t have to spend a full minute sweating over whether or not you have too many exclamation marks or lose sleep wondering if that full stop on a text means your friend is mad at you.”

Be that as it may, eight years since voice notes were introduced on WhatsApp they’re as contentious as ever.