I know. Sounds crazy, right? Talking to strangers on the phone at random.
But maybe it’s a little bit crazy to talk to strangers on the internet so we’re already halfway there.
I have tried it exactly once. I downloaded an app. Scanned down a list of people available to chat and pushed dial.
Nice guy answered. He was from Turkey. He was learning to speak English. He worked in the hospitality industry so he could get ahead if his English was more polished. Overall, nice conversation.
I haven’t done it again, but I might.
Would you voice chat with a stranger on a phone app?
Fair enough. I just took it like meeting a stranger on the street. I don’t know anything about them, but I might stop and chat. The advantage of a voice chat is that the stranger can’t follow me home, accost me on the street, and if I don’t like the way the conversation is going, I can hang up without them ever being able to contact me again.
If I did like the conversation, there’s a way to re-connect on the app if I choose.
I’m probably the worst person to respond to this thread I’m not in the habit of talking to many people I don’t know, unless there is some common cause that brings you together.
I haven’t seen one of my oldest and dearest friends in a while (she lives in Scotland) so called her last week and we were on the phone for FIVE hours
I have actually been thinking about making a dating app that is voice-first, so you only get to see the person’s picture after you’ve found you’ve liked each other’s voices first. I think voices are just as if not more important than looks alone… tho maybe that’s a good topic for another thread
I agree Muddy. I have chatted with strangers online but have found that the majority are scammers or men wanting more than online chat…if you know what I mean!
I like to chat with people I know from forums, because you can usually judge them from how they post.
I am not so sure about talking to a stranger via an app because you would get some random person that you hadn’t chosen to speak to.
I am all for dating sites, at least l can select who l speak to. There is no longer the stigma that was originally attached to dating sites, they are now the modern way to go.
They are not all scammers/chancers out for any money you might have. The majority are widowers, divorced, lonely, or just singles wanting to meet somebody nice for company and share interests.
Dating makes the interaction more complex so lots more areas to explore with that topic.
Maybe I shouldn’t have used the word stranger in my OP. People are brought up being told not to talk to strangers.
People talk to strangers on the phone all the time, from customer service people to people providing services. Even though these people have a reason to interact, they’re still essentially strangers.
Someone on another forum long ago shared a story of how he met his wife on ham radio. Lots of stories of people helping each other and connecting.
That’s true of many places where people meet others. The app has a few more protections. No one gets your phone number because it’s through the app so no one can call you back without permission. In order for them to contact you by phone, you would have to give them your phone number or they couldn’t reach you. They can only contact you with your permission on the app. You can block them on the app at any time.
On the app I tried, it wasn’t random. The other person has a profile. They put out a topic and generally what they want to talk about. You can see the topic and whether they’re available to take a call. If you’re interested, you contact them through the app. At the end of the call, you give feedback on how it went. So do they. If you mutually agree, you can contact each other via the app.
I always think that Dating sites is the wrong name for sites where people are just looking for people who want social companions to share time with… but I can’t think of another name to call them…Maybe Friendship sites
To me, dating is something you did when you were looking for a partner, but not all people are looking for that kind of relationship. I would be happy to share time with either sex, as a friend, but not as a partner!
Oh Gawd, me too, I can’t think of anything worse than trying to make small talk with someone you don’t know from Adam, I have enough trouble wriggling out of talking to people I do know
Plus, Londoner here, you don’t just go around talking to randoms, they’re bound to be psycho or bunny boilers