Why I hate video calling

It crept in a bit during corona: video calling. But as far as I'm concerned, the Zoom sessions can join the face masks and Covid tests in the corner of oblivion. Where video calling was truly a solution, I'm done with it now and here's why.

1. The uncertainty about the link
Is it working or is it not?

2. Your background needs to be spick and span
I hate drying racks and messy bookshelves. The background should be appropriate for the meeting and despite the fact that our house isn't tiny, I usually end up in a child's room for that one piece of bare wall.

3. Your laptop that of course is dead right during your call
And then searching for that charger that is downstairs again, forcing you to walk past that embarrassing collection of boxes with orders, your dog starts barking as if a brigade of thieves is in the garden, and so on.

4. The view of yourself
Those bags under your eyes, those red spots, that sagging jawline; really, can that camera be turned off?

5. The back and forth stuttering
Where a phone call flows smoothly and fluidly, here it goes so awkwardly. We almost don't say ‘over’ or ‘roger’ after a sentence, but we're really not far from that.

So I propose: let's just call again. ‘For heaven's sake’ I would almost want to add. Some things weren't so bad in the past.