Do you like the ringtone on your smartphone? Do you play your favorite song or the most neutral sound? Today we propose to discuss ringtones in your devices.
I'm on the subway and I hear a familiar ringtone, instinctively I look for my smartphone so as not to miss a possible important call, and only after a couple of seconds I realize that someone else's phone is ringing. But the feeling of stress still remains. I am surprised to understand that it is connected with the ringtone.
A few years ago, I loved experimenting with melodies on my simple phone, playing various favorite songs, assigning separate ringtones for frequent contacts, etc. And then some time later I turn on one of my playlists and realize that I involuntarily frown and get nervous when the songs that were on my call are playing. Everything turned out to be simple and even a little trivial: when the phone rings, you have a conditioned reflex – 'you need to pick up the phone' and the longer the melody plays, the stronger thoughts like 'you need to take the call as soon as possible, the subscriber has been waiting for a long time', as a result the melody itself becomes a source of stress. As soon as I realized this, I stopped using anything other than standard sounds in any smartphone.
In fact, these observations are true for any music. For example, five years ago I was preparing for the first session with the songs of my favorite singer, and of course, some time later, her music began to be associated with cramming and session. It took a long time before I was able to listen to her songs again without any emotional connotation. Memories are like the smell of food, which can soak into the refrigerator in which she lies. And of course, it takes time for it to disappear. On the other hand, certain music is associated with pleasant memorable moments and listening to it, you seem to be returning to that time. This, by the way, is one of the reasons why it is useful to walk with headphones on travel, 'feeding' your favorite tracks with positive emotions.
Returning to the topic of ringtones. For me, the direct parallel between them and the alarm clock was not obvious, because if the first is almost always an annoying factor, then the second is a simple notification. As it turns out, it can also cause stress, albeit in an implicit way.
What do you say, dear readers? How do you feel about ringtones? Do you play standard tunes or your favorite tracks? Are you getting annoyed by the songs set to ring or not?