Same here. A lot of older people grew up in a time when it was common courtesy to always pick up the phone. I’m not as old as the lady in the story, but I have no such scruples. I hate talking on the phone anyway, and 98% of the calls are sales and scam calls.
Same, I will not answer the phone if I see a number I don’t recognize. If it’s an important phone call the person will leave a voice mail.
There are times when I’m expecting an important call and will pickup if the phone number looks legit. And at least a third of the time, I end up answering a telemarketer or spam call.
Funny thing is I got a job offer and the company called me as “unknown caller”. Luckily they left a voicemail, but I apologized to the HR person for missing the call and let them know they looked like a robo-caller using unknown.
I have a list of contacts in my phone (friends, family members, employer, coworkers, doctor, dentist, etc. If I get a call from an unknown number (and they seem to be increasing) I DON’T ANSWER THE PHONE. It’s as simple as that.