Isn’t it time we banned voicemails for good?

The wonderful Matt Haig, author of Reasons to Stay Alive, sparked a furious social media debate this week when he suggested on Twitter that voicemail should be banned.

Some people were horrified, with Iain Lee, the comedian and former I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! contestant, aghast at the prospect of actually having to talk to people.

But many others were in agreement, calling the act of having to listen to a voicemail a stressful one and reasoning that, were it important, the person would try to call again.

After all, why leave a message when you can text, email,

When I call friends to have a conversation, they never answer

Whatsapp, direct message or fire a flare into the sky?

My mother starts each voicemail she leaves me by shouting: “DON’T DELETE THIS, I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY!” Mostly she is just calling to tell me about her book club.

As ever, millennials are shouldering much of the blame – a generation who, according to a New York Times article on the subject, have “grown up in a texting-friendly culture.”

I have younger friends who are obsessed with sending over voice notes but when I try and call them to have an actual conversation, they never answer.

At first I thought they were trying to tell me something by not telling me anything. Is my chat really that bad?

Now I realise that – much like being able to remember a time when Arsenal won the double – it’s just another sign that I am getting older.