Why don't people call back?

I was recently swapping text messages with a friend of mine. I had been feeling a bit low and mentioned this in one of the messages. Her response was reassuring: "If you ever feel like talking, I am always there." I felt better for a while before I remembered something - I was sending her text messages because she almost never picked up her phone when I called. Worse, she almost never called back!

Which leads me to something that has always tended to fascinate me - why on earth do so many people not call back, especially when they get calls from those they claim are their friends? I can understand people not responding to text messages, but a call is surely more urgent. I tend to get very nervous when I miss a call from someone I know. My first impulse is: "I hope there's nothing wrong. I hope it wasn't urgent." and my next one is to immediately call back as soon as possible. Quite a few people clearly think differently.

I have no idea why this is so. Yes, we do live in busy times and yes, there are certain circumstances under which one cannot call back. But not calling back when you can well afford to do so is almost criminal. It reflects insensitivity and sometimes even contempt. I wish I had a penny for every time I tried to call a "friend" when I was in a spot of bother only for him/her to not only not pick up the phone, but also not bother calling back.

Mind you, there is a minority that still believes in getting back. One of my oldest friends insists on scrupulously calling back whenever he misses a call from me - he once called me from a sickbed in a hospital and once, bang in the middle of a press conference he was giving, apologising for missing a call because of all the noise! Some may call that overdoing things a bit. I rather like it.

The next time you get a missed call from someone you like, try calling back as soon as possible. They might be in trouble. Or they just might want to talk. Which, come to think of it, is sometimes just as important.