美国国家公共电台 NPR--Are you getting more voice notes these days? You're not alone

Are you getting more voice notes these days? You're not alone

Transcript¹

Best friends Hope Sloop³ and Bobbi Miller⁴ first met on TikTok. Although they have known each other for less than a year, they rarely see each other in person because they live on opposite coasts. But one particular form of communication has kept them close: voice messages.

Also called "voice texts," "voice notes" and "audio messages" — not to be confused with voice-to-text through virtual assistants like Siri — voice messages are a feature built into messaging apps including iMessage and WhatsApp.

"Between Bobbi and I, we probably send each other anywhere from 10 to 50 a day," Sloop said. "It's a lot."

Texting can muddle⁵ meaning, and calls can trigger anxiety. But for many, short voice recordings⁶ offer an easier, low-pressure alternative in a world that's grown more accustomed to audio mediums such as Clubhouse and podcasts.

The ability to communicate tone is a big part of the appeal.

"We're able to hear the sheer joy in each other's voice," Miller said of her friendship with Sloop. "Or if we're going through something, just like having a hard time, sometimes in text the gravity of the situation doesn't always get relayed."

"It really just helps to mitigate⁷ any of that gray area of what you're saying. It's just very, very direct and I think it feels much more conversational," Miller added.

Miller and Sloop, both 24, aren't an anomaly among their Gen Z cohort. Though the feature has been available in popular apps for over a decade, it has increasingly become a favorite way to connect, especially among younger generations.

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

WhatsApp revealed last year that an average 7 billion voice messages were sent daily on the app.

In isolated⁸ times, the audio-friendly tech boom may be influencing our communication styles

For some, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of the communication form.

Shortly after its launch, the Chinese messaging app WeChat added the feature in 2011. WhatsApp's came a couple years after that. Apple caught on to the fad⁹, releasing voice messages on iMessage in 2014.

But in 2020, those who longed for connection while homebound found their social salve in voice notes.

"I miss chatting verbally with friends and family members, so these days it's especially comforting to hear their voices come through my phone speakers." Nicole Gallucci wrote for Mashable that year.

At the same time, audio-heavy social media was emerging. Clubhouse, which launched the same month as lockdowns in the U.S., drew millions to the app's live audio rooms. Twitter answered with its own audio-only town hall feature, Spaces. Dating apps Hinge and Bumble have also caught up to the trend.

As voice messages become a growing preference for consumers, trend forecasting firm Trendera reports a simultaneous shift in increasing consumption of podcasts, audiobooks and other audio-only content.

So voice messages no longer seem like such a far jump.

With more people working from home since the pandemic disrupted the workplace, fewer adopters have to wait until they find a quiet place to listen to audio texts.

It's no wonder Miller, who hosts her own podcast covering pop culture, has grown comfortable enough with hearing her own voice to send her friends minutes-long messages.

Her friends jokingly refer to those missives as "the Bobbi podcast."

Still, the feature has its haters. "I absolutely despise it when people use voice notes over just plain old texting," Talla Kuperman, a jewelry¹¹ designer in her early 40s told The Wall Street Journal. Having received drawn-out voice notes, she thinks that, in the absence of a universal etiquette¹² for them, some are far too time-consuming. "I actually find it very selfish," she said.

Voice notes can help us bond

Research suggests that you don't necessarily have to be a fan of voice messages to reap their benefits.

"There is a fundamental mode of communication that connects human beings and their social needs, and that's hearing a voice," Amit Kumar, an assistant professor of marketing¹³ and psychology¹⁴ at the University of Texas-Austin, told NPR.

For a paper published in 2021, he studied the benefits and drawbacks of various forms of tech-enabled communication. He found that interactions involving voice (phone, video chat and voice chat) produced stronger social bonds and no increased feelings of awkwardness when compared with text-based interactions (e-mail, text chat). Still, he says his research suggests that "asynchronous" forms of communication like voice notes, that don't involve a back-and-forth dialogue, can't replace the benefits of "synchronous¹⁵" calls that allow us to pick up on linguistic¹⁶ cues to have a more seamless, responsive conversation.

The appeal of the voice note

So, why not just opt¹⁰ for a call? For one, tech fatigue¹⁷ has come to include phone calls.

"For whatever reason, traditional phone calls are increasingly a work-related activity," said Jasmine Golphin, a 36-year-old filmmaker.

Voice notes also don't require carving¹⁸ out a dedicated¹⁹ time to hop² on the phone, she said.

People NPR spoke²⁰ to for this story said they tend to be a lot more forgiving when expecting a quick reply to voice notes. The fact that read receipts — those time stamps that snitch on you if you've seen a message but haven't responded yet — aren't an option on voice notes removes some of the pressure.

"I don't have that same level of anxiety as to whether someone's going to respond or not, because I don't know if they listen to it," Miller said. "It gives people plausible²¹ deniability."

Then there's the beauty of the voice note's ephemerality. On the iPhone's messaging platform, if you don't "keep" a voice text within two minutes of receiving, the message vanishes. (You can also tweak expiration²² length to "never" in settings). That removes the formality of "getting it right," with the added benefit of not squandering²³ phone storage.

As Gen Zers resurrect outmoded technology, like film and point-and-shoot cameras, Sloop thinks the voice note — which recalls walkie-talkies — similarly caters²⁴ to the demographic's nostalgic leanings that offer a respite²⁵ from the abundance of other tech.

Plus, it's just plain fun, she says.

"Every time I've ever gotten a 4-minute, 3-minute podcast voice message, it's always like, let me grab my little popcorn," Sloop said. "Something's going to be said that is going to be entertaining. It's going to have a beginning, middle and end. It's a storytelling experience."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 sloop   

n.单桅帆船

参考例句：

• They heeled the sloop well over,skimming it along to windward.他们使单桅小船倾斜适当，让它顶着风向前滑去。
• While a sloop always has two sails,a cat-rigged boat generally has only one.一艘单桅帆船总是有两面帆，但一艘单桅艇通常只有一面帆。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 mitigate   

vt.（使）减轻，（使）缓和

参考例句：

• The government is trying to mitigate the effects of inflation.政府正试图缓和通货膨胀的影响。
• Governments should endeavour to mitigate distress.政府应努力缓解贫困问题。

8 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

9 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

10 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

11 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

12 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

15 synchronous   

adj.同步的

参考例句：

• The message can be used only with synchronous operations.消息只能与同步操作一起使用。
• Synchronous machines do not easily fall out of step under normal conditions.在正常情况下，同步电机不易失去同步。

16 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

17 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

18 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

19 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

20 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

21 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

22 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

23 squandering   

v.（指钱，财产等）浪费，乱花( squander的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• You're faced with ending it all, of squandering what was given. 把到手的东西就这样随随便便弄掉。 来自辞典例句
• I see all this potential And I see squandering. 你们的潜力都被浪费了。 来自互联网

24 caters   

提供饮食及服务( cater的第三人称单数 )； 满足需要，适合

参考例句：

• That shop caters exclusively to the weaker sex. 那家商店专供妇女需要的商品。
• The boutique caters for a rather select clientele. 这家精品店为特定的顾客群服务。

25 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。