Book

Which Is Faster: Calling or Messaging?!

Ahmed Abdulrahman Al-Arfaj

Publication Date: July 4, 2026 23:16 KSA

Yellow Ink

It is good for a person to reconsider some of his behaviors and ways of communicating with people. Among the things I wish to reconsider is calling others for every little thing, and moving away from utilizing the vital energy in messages, especially since we have many instant messaging applications. Besides Snapchat, there is its sibling WhatsApp, and its cousin Telegram.

My friends, family, and everyone who communicates with me know that I am the "king of messages." It was my secretary, Ms. Nithmiya, who gave me this title because throughout her ten years of working with me, I have only called her twice. The rest of the work is done through continuous messaging. Here, I ask everyone who knows me not to call me except in extreme necessity, so we can protect our ears from phone radiation, and also, we do not want to be easy prey for telecommunications companies.

When I call for messages instead of calls, I have my justifications and excuses, including: First: A person may be in a mosque, a meeting, on a plane, or in a tense argument, and it is not good to call people in these situations. Second: We all know that the law does not allow using a mobile phone while driving, and now cameras are planted on every street. So why do we call people and make them answer our calls while they are in a position that does not allow them to respond? Third: Most of those I communicate with, and who communicate with me, invest time in capturing beautiful scenery or nice shots, or as happens with me in filming the #Walking_with_Al-Arfaj segment. If you call someone while they are filming, you will be considered a burdensome guest, and perhaps the person you called will curse you for interrupting their flow of ideas. Fourth: If you call your friend because you need something, he will be forced to return the call, and in doing so he will face two difficulties: first, you asked him for a favor, and second, the call costs will be on this poor person whom you are asking for help. I think in this case he will not be enthusiastic about helping you with your need! Fifth: It is clear that communication between people is very weak. For example, you say to your friend: "How are you?" He replies and says: "Yesterday I bought a car." This chaos in verbal communication can only be resolved by messages. So, send a message to Ms. Nithmiya, for instance, and she reads it, hears it once or twice until she understands the meaning. This virtue is not present in calling. Sixth: Those who call saying: "We want to check on you, get your news, and hear your voice," I tell them: "My news is all good and is available on social media. As for my voice, it is not as good as the voices of the two friends, Mohammed Abdu and Talal Salama, for you to be keen to hear it." Well, what remains? What remains is to say: O people, please stop calling me except when necessary, and whoever wants something, messages are the closest way to me, just as the stomach is the closest way to a man's heart.

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