And that’s before you get to the content of the call. Sheri goes on: "Our whole sense of normality is very, very different. Before we would be inclined to contact people for some news, or to have a general catch-up. Whereas now it seems the stakes are really elevated because our whole world has been shifted upside down." At a time when everyone is struggling in some way, be it emotionally, financially or physically, having an ordinary conversation feels bizarre and a serious conversation exhausting. Trying to 'read the room' when there is so much distress feels impossible. You don’t want to further upset a friend who’s been made redundant, for example, by complaining about your increased workload; you don’t know how to talk about the fact your relative has died when you’re having a laugh with an old mate. And so you turn to text instead, mute your phone and let an incoming call ring out.