When I was in school in St. Louis in the early ‘80s, on nights when I couldn’t see my girlfriend, on the way home from the library I used to stop at the Cheshire Inn and give her a call from the British-style phone box outside. So there I was, and there she was in her apartment sitting next to and talking on a phone plugged into the wall. It made my day to hear her voice. It was intimate. I still remember some of those conversations.
I have never made a visual phone call. I just never have seen the need for it. Just as I find radio a more intimate medium than TV, I also find a simple voice call more intimate. I guess if I were far away from someone and hadn’t seen her for a long time, I might like the visual part, but otherwise, no. And as for a gadget that is smart enough to track me around the room — hell, no.
It’s ever so much more intimate having your gf watch you pick your nose, scratch your butt and go to the bathroom.
I find skype useful when on long business trips - for talking to my wife and young daughter. The little one’s face lights up when she sees me.
Other than that, I do not use video calling.