I’ve always hated cellphones. They are nothing more than electronic dog leashes.

Yes, a sense of relief floods me and I want to disappear from the world. I make sure everyone is okay switch everything off and then I go down the Alice in Wonderland hole!

Not even a little. I have never felt obligated to respond to people who either call or text me. The only time that my phone is off is when it dies. It serves too many purposes outside of communication for me to bother shutting it off.

Besides, everyone knows not to call me. I absolutely hate speaking on the phone.

My brother went out four times this weekend with different people. Just thinking about that stresses me the hell out. It’s the physical presence – being surrounded by other bodies that will speak and respond to me with immediacy – that makes me want to crawl into a hole and not come out.

I like to txt, but hate to talk. So I keep the ringer off and the SMS on buzz.

Sure, but it also depends on my current pile of stressors.

I never turn mine off, I give my number out sparingly.

I am pretty extroverted. I don’t turn it off, but I don’t always answer it either. I have the phone to make my life easier. Not to let other people make my life harder.

No one ever calls me, unless we’ve planned the phone call ahead of time. If I get a call I haven’t planned, it’s probably the library – which is a robo-call from one of four different numbers, and it goes to voicemail – or a telemarketer, which I do not answer.

You pick up your phone when it rings?

I really dislike talking on the phone. Texting is okay. I much prefer eMail. Regardless of the means of communication, I never feel compelled to respond immediately.

Similar to what @josie said, I love my smart phone, but its job is to make my life easier, not to let other people make my life harder.

I think I almost never talk on my phone. I text my wife and sometimes my mom and sister. I do not have a large social network that’s going to ping me constantly. SO it never stresses me.

I am an introvert and I detest talking on the phone. I am relieved that my current car does not have built-in Bluetooth, because that justifies me not answering when my one friend calls. She is an extroverted phone person. Everyone else understands that I just text, but she and I compromise.

The technology is what you make of it; it is a tool that we control. I restart my device periodically, but I never turn it off. My mobile phone is not only in Silent mode, but I have Notifications turned off for all but the emergency and VIP communications.

My favorite feature is ‘Do Not Disturb’ which is automatically on from 10pm-7am, and I turn it on when I’m driving or at work or the movies and such. My fiancé is also introverted and doesn’t talk on the phone, but he is not distractible like me, so his mobile blinks and buzzes every minute, it seems. He has toned it down for my benefit, though.

Like many people, I don’t use the “phone” feature on my phone, and do not answer the phone at home. It’s an old form of communication that fortunately is going away. Other modes that are more considerate and work for everyone without interrupting people’s lives have replaced it. So, if someone wants to contact me, they will send me an email or text. I can view these at my convenience and decide when it’s appropriate for me to respond.

When I am with my kids, I am with my kids. If the phone rings, I do not answer it. Fortunately, after years of this, people know how to reach me. Placing a phone call will not do it.

I wouldn’t consider myself an introvert or an extrovert. What’s in between?

I hardly ever talk on my cell phone. The only people that call me are my mother and, rarely, my husband. I only have one or two people I text on a regular basis. I have a phone, not to be easily reached, but to be constantly connected to the Internet. Being cut off from the Internet doesn’t give me a sense of relief – it usually gives me a sense of boredom. My phone is never off. I can easily put it aside if I want to.

My phones (landline and cell) are on silent when I’m home. I check them periodically to make sure no one has called.

When someone knocks at my door or phones me, my heart jumps and I get anxious and nervous, and I can’t really figure out why. In fact I admit, it makes me feel scared, and sometimes I ignore the knock or ringing until it stops. As far as I know, the authorities aren’t after me or nothing. So I have no idea what this is about, although I am an introvert. (fucks if I know if every other introvert experiences this)
When I answer the door or phone, it’s never anything extreme, just normal stuff, and I’m not expecting dreadful news or anything. It’s like instinct boils up, and has no reason to. I feel relieved when I hear/see the person because then I have an idea of what I’m dealing with, so maybe the not knowing thing is the reason? The only time this doesn’t happen is when I’m expecting the call, and then the opposite happens.

As far as introverts go, I’m sure there’s a difference between not liking people, and being scared of them. I’m no good in social situations and so I avoid them like the plague, because I fear humiliation above all else. And it’s happened before, this is not a baseless fear. I’ve always been shy ever since I was a kid, but a lot more than most other shy people I’ve met. Just picking up milk at the store filled me with dread because it meant I had to interact with some stranger when making the purchase. So a lot of this is probably some problem in my brain I was born with. (as I cannot pinpoint some triggering element) I’ve worked on it a lot though, especially by working as a waitress. You have to talk to people all the time, but my secret is, I turn into a robot. You don’t actually converse with them or anything, just say what you gotta say, and answer accordingly. It’s kind of like being at school, and answering when the teacher talks to you. Except I can’t use this in social situations because it isn’t work, and working is something you absolutely have to do. Denno if that makes sense. Easier to hide than to face it.

Sorry, I strayed off way too far, but I sort of felt the need to at least try and justify, or elaborate, my spazzing out when someone calls on me. But this is Fluther, where I can express myself and derail questions and no one can do anything about it. :)

I can relate to this!

I got a cell phone way later than my peers for this reason exactly. Sometimes I hate that people expect to be able to reach me pretty much anytime. Sometimes I just don’t reply to texts. I know it’s considered a dick move, but I need that.

Yes, I experience this. As an introvert, I sometimes need solitude. But in this day and age the concept of solitude is challenged by technology, so therefore I like to turn of cellphone and computer. Unfortunately it cannot be practiced in everyday-life, but I did it during the holidays.

I keep my cell phone in case of emergencies, and for a matter of convenience. I simply don’t give my number out to too many people, or those that I don’t want to bother with. Turning my phone off has no factor on my happiness, and it’s the mail I worry the most about these days. I do feel relieved when I’m finally home, away from everybody else though.

I’m glad I’m not alone :]

It does stress me out, the mere fact that life seems to think we are answerable to it at any time with their demands, freaks me out. I’m not interested. I blame, a long career in sales, including telesales at one point and my new found enjoyment of just saying no.