A) How are phone calls "more real" than internet conversations?
B) Did you read the Reddit discussion you are criticizing? His handle is "Lucidending". He opted to go off medication in his final hours so he could be lucid and spend quality time with family before he checks out, something he was unable to do while completely fucked up on chemo and other drugs. He is spending his last hours with family and on the internet, the internet being a substitute for a physical world tour which he is physically unable to do.
> A) How are phone calls "more real" than internet conversations?
Voices have their good points. They convey a lot of emotion and such. On the other hand, I found that has a big downside as well, especially when dealing with something like a serious health crisis: People can't keep negative emotions out of their voices, emotions which can be unwelcome to the person in crisis. If you are dying and wanting to "get a life", not dealing with the emotions in someone's voice can be a benefit of being online. To me, it's not "more real" or "less real". It's just a different means to communicate, one with different strengths and weaknesses. It's better suited for some things, less well suited for others, but to me it is no less "real".
Oh, and have an upvote.