DIGITAL ICT
Instagram, TikTok, Messenger, Snapchat, WhatsApp… Social networks and instant messaging have invaded our daily lives for better and for worse. Because with them appeared practices, blessed by some but hated by others, revelation of our society. “L’Obs” dissects them here.
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You see them every day without realizing it. And yet it is downright weird! These people walking down the street can listen to their phone perpendicular to their ear or in front of their mouth while talking to themselves. But what are they doing? Well, they send (or listen to) a voice message. “It has become more and more popular since 2019-2020 and the phenomenon has intensified with successive incarcerations”, explains to “Obs” Célia Schneebeli, teacher-researcher in linguistics at the University of Burgundy. Whatsapp, Messenger, Snapchat or even Instagram: all social networks have gradually caught up. To the delight of some, to the greatest despair of others, as this Instagram post humorously explains:
See this post on Instagram
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Instagram voice notes
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On a telephone essentially made for telephoning, which has become its main use for writing messages, audios are gradually appearing! “The voice message is really a hybrid between the call and the written message”, explains Olivier Glassey, sociologist specializing in digital uses at the University of Lausanne. But why the hell use this new practice?
“As a sender, voicemail has many advantages: you go fast, you avoid misspellings and misunderstandings, you can just talk and you can set the right tone”, explains Olivier Glassey. The voice can then betray emotions, insisting on elements that the written message cannot convey despite the development of emoticons.
Control your voice image
No more ambiguities with a message experienced as aggressive. For the sociologist, the “songs” even make it possible to have a feeling of almost physical proximity to the voice of the other: “You can literally whisper in someone’s ear. »
Very intimate but not necessarily spontaneous, users can create and redo their publications: “Just like on social networks, after there is the whole game of self-representation, audio here, wondering what vocal incarnation we want to give”, explains Olivier Glassey. So it’s up to you to redo your message by playing with sensuality, evil or tears. This would also explain sending a “one” (for “voice note” in English) instead of calling. We also see that the new generations – in particular Generation Z, born after 1997 – increasingly share the fear of answering the telephone, often out of embarrassment but also from growing forgetfulness of how to call (having the right dial tone, chaining responses), etc. .).
We exchanged our TikTok: “I have the impression that the app knows me better than my mother”
Using this feature is also associated with self-centeredness. “There’s a bit of selfishness in using voicemail instead of calling because you don’t have to wait for the other person to be available and you can communicate when you want. According to his schedule, explains Celia Schneebeli.
Olivier Glassey offers another explanation: “Calling someone is now seen as an intrusive process, a call to be answered when the phone rings. The message is rather a way of saying: “I have things to tell you, as soon as you have the opportunity you can read it or listen to it”. » The voice message can therefore be seen as a welcome form of courtesy in a world that is going a hundred miles an hour.
Wander for long minutes for a little information
Yes, but here it is. It is precisely at this stage that the controversy between pro and anti-speech messages exists. A written message is much more synthetic and can be deciphered in a fraction of a second. On the audio however, transmitters have the unfortunate tendency to wander, the spirit of synthesis evaporates as soon as the thumb lands on the recording microphone. Then there is a (very) long monologue that you have to listen to without being able to react… except with yourself. Mainly because the ” and “ for example, can take up to thirty minutes on Messenger! A nightmare that this TikTok summarizes for you with humor:
video/7106896672327765254" data-video-id="7106896672327765254" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px">@tokyonojo I hate voicemails
♬ son original – TokyonoJo
Notes vocales TikTok
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“The audio message is very easy to make, but afterwards it is a listening order, that is to say that we anticipate the time necessary for this listening”, describes Olivier Glassey. Hives develop in some people, not necessarily because of receiving audio messages, but because it lasts for several minutes. In this pool of digressions, the most painful thing is not knowing where to find the vital information that interests us. It is then necessary not only to find the time to listen to everything, but also the conditions to do so (mute your music, be quiet). In two words: hell.
To survive, some develop strategies to not listen to the whole message: delete the notification « vu » so the other person doesn’t know their audio isn’t being listened to, notice the variation in the volume of the audio to listen to where the person is talking the most, listen to speed up… One way to stay polite – especially when audio is enforced by the supervisor on the job – while saving their time. Others don’t care in many ways: “Some people are more senders than receivers and find audio messaging a solution they don’t want to be subjected to”, explains Olivier Glassey. Translation: I use audio to tell you about my life, but don’t tell me about yours. Selfishness and narcissism invite themselves again.
Cohabitation between written and audio messages
If voice messages have undeniable qualities that make them stand out, they also benefit from a real fashion effect. Texting lost its appeal among young people when parents started appropriating it by using too many emoticons. Outdated, texting has been abandoned in favor of instant messaging on social networks. These multinationals quickly understood the potential of audio and created a new trend.
From there to think that voice messages will definitely replace written messages? “Voicemail takes its place in a niche that did not exist, but which does not compete with written messaging”, judge Célia Schneebeli. Experts underline the difficulty of using audio messages in a professional or institutional environment: “When you’re in a meeting, you can discreetly watch or send a text message, which is impossible with a spoken message. At work, we also prefer phone calls and emails to discuss., explains for example the researcher. It’s also because talking reveals a lot of our personality and we don’t have the same relationship with a colleague (or his boss) as with our loved ones. The written word still benefits from an image of seriousness that the spoken word does not have.
Rather than replacing the written message, the audio could rather complement it and even return to it, as Célia Schneebeli explains: “Transcription of audio into written form in the future, but software companies will have to make progress to make it work better.” » With so many options, it’s impossible not to find a shoe that’s right for you. Ultimate challenge: the written transcription of a telephone conversation, for those who still practice it.
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