You send someone a voice note expecting a quick response, but hours pass without them listening to it. It can be tempting to assume they are ignoring you, annoyed with you or simply uninterested in the conversation. But psychology suggests that avoiding voice notes may have little to do with the person who sent them. Some people simply find audio communication cognitively demanding, difficult to control or poorly suited to the way they process information. Unlike text, a voice message requires the listener to stop and listen in real time, making it harder to skim, search, reread or respond selectively. Research into cognitive load, media richness, social presence and communication preferences helps explain why someone may genuinely like you while repeatedly leaving your voice notes unopened.
