More on phone-o-phobia. Concept, I think you have helped me to figure out the source of this nonsense. I too used to screen calls like crazy at work. Almost all my calls were either from these bozo corporate marketing people in Houston asking me stupid questions or nagging at me for something or from the international marketing/pr people asking me even stupider questions. I've honestly never liked talking on the phone at great length since I was oh, 16 or so, but the phone avoidance behavior I think definitely started at work. I also have this fear about leaving my phone on by accident and having it ring at an inopportune time (e.g. when I was doing my fiction reading for a small audience at some arts center) so now I only turn it on when I'm out and about on the weekends. My close friends have my house number so they know to reach me there during evenings and mornings.