30% of Americans Say They Send Voice Notes Weekly, But Why Are They So Popular?

The modern world has a wide range of communication methods that people can use. Phone calls, text messages and video chats are pretty commonplace, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, they tend to give users a fair bit of anxiety particularly if they struggle with social situations. However, sending voice notes has turned into a much more popular form of getting in touch with people.

According to a poll of about one thousand Americans that was conducted by YouGov, around 62% of people living in the US stated that they have sent voice notes at some point in the past. 30% of them went so far as to say that they send at least one voice note per week, with many using them on a daily basis with all things having been considered and taken into account.

If we were to zero in on the younger crowd, namely those who are between the ages of 18 and 29, voice notes seem even more popular than might have been the case otherwise. Around 43% of survey respondents who fell within this age bracket stated that they use voice notes regularly because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping them communicate with less anxiety.

WhatsApp’s own statistics seem to support the notion that voice note popularity is at an all time high. According to numbers released by the instant messaging app, users send around 7 billion voice notes to each other every single day.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that voice notes could play a role in helping people overcome social anxiety as well as feelings of isolation. They provide a method of communication that places less pressure on the person at the other end, since they can listen to the voice note at their leisure without feeling the need to respond urgently.

Studies have actually shown that it can be easier to communicate if you can actually listen to the other person instead of just reading a block of text. According to some research, paralinguistic cues which are largely absent from text based forms of communication are easier to pick up if you can hear the other person’s voice.

This helps to provide context and cues that the other person can use to form a reply appropriately. A study conducted at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley revealed that people seem more intelligent and thoughtful through voice messages than they do through text messages.

Voice messages can help to clear up any confusion caused by misinformation. They are able to convey tone in a way that text messages simply can’t, so it’s easy to see why people might prefer them. Checking up on a loved one is easier when you can convey your concern through your voice rather than worrying about the chance that it might get misconstrued.

Voice notes are clearly seeing an uptick in popularity. This could have a lasting impact not just on WhatsApp but on the social media industry as a whole in the near future.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World