--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We play phone tag, back and forth, the…" description: "\"“We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where it's clear we're avoiding each other, where no one wants to be touched, tagged, you're it”\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg" --- # We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where… ![“We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where it's clear we're avoiding each other, where no one wants to be touched, tagged, you're it” quote by Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg) > ““We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where it's clear we're avoiding each other, where no one wants to be touched, tagged, you're it”” [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People avoid intimacy, turning interaction into a game of pursuit and avoidance. **In simple terms:** Avoidance turns connection into a game. Key Takeaway Address avoidance directly. Themes intimacy avoidance communication Mood reflective melancholic Type narrative social When to use this quote - dating - team building - family conflict - online messaging Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we avoid closeness? - What game are you playing? A Different Perspective Avoidance may be protective, not just avoidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoidance/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Phone Tag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-tag-4188052/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Tag Forth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tag-forth-4188054/) [Tagged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tagged/) [Touched Tagged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touched-tagged-4188053/) [Wants Touched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-touched-4188055/) ## Related quotes > [“His chest swelled with pride at her words. “Good, because no one touches my girl unless she wants to be touched. No woman should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/his-chest-swelled-with-pride-at-her-words-good-because-no-one-touches/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [“Call When You Say You’re Going To Call. Sometimes being ambivalent about following up with someone (you kinda/sorta like him but you’re not crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-alvear/call-when-you-say-you-re-going-to-call-sometimes-being-ambivalent/) [Mike Alvear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-alvear/) > [You're Tagged now Describe me in Three words!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-tagged-now-describe-me-in-three-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you wake up hoping no one tagged you in any pictures from last night, you're partying the right way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wake-up-hoping-no-one-tagged-you-in-any-pictures-from-last/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No matter what your circumstances are, you are where God wants you to be. Praise Him through it anyway!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa/no-matter-what-your-circumstances-are-you-are-where-god-wants-you-to/) [Lisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa/) > [Evan Rachel Wood is a robot, yes. And some of them, there was one person in particular that was so sure, wrote like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-rachel-wood/evan-rachel-wood-is-a-robot-yes-and-some-of-them-there-was-one-person/) [Evan Rachel Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-rachel-wood/) > [Well, I'd like to be remembered by all my work, instead of one song. But a lot of times you get tagged that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-paycheck/well-i-d-like-to-be-remembered-by-all-my-work-instead-of-one-song-but/) [Johnny Paycheck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-paycheck/) > [Once you become tagged as anything, it becomes difficult to shake it, because the less imaginative people in the business want you to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/once-you-become-tagged-as-anything-it-becomes-difficult-to-shake-it/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [I have been tagged mischievous since childhood and was known as a prankster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-shukla/i-have-been-tagged-mischievous-since-childhood-and-was-known-as-a/) [Siddharth Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-shukla/) > [What the Black lives matter movement is doing is they are making it personal. They are making it hash tagged, exposing the racial injustice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/what-the-black-lives-matter-movement-is-doing-is-they-are-making-it/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Opening the fridge door, I found a rat eating the cheese. My dealings with rodents, particularly those tagged verminous, have been few, but generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tibor-fischer/opening-the-fridge-door-i-found-a-rat-eating-the-cheese-my-dealings/) [Tibor Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tibor-fischer/) > [“Most of us won't see one another after graduation, and even if we do it will be different. We'll be different. We'll be adults--cured,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/most-of-us-won-t-see-one-another-after-graduation-and-even-if-we-do/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [You try to be yourself, do only what you've always done and like to do, and right away, you're tagged as an oddball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dean/you-try-to-be-yourself-do-only-what-you-ve-always-done-and-like-to-do/) [James Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dean/) > [We're gonna take what's ours to have spread the word throughout the land. They say the bad guys wear black we're tagged and can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pantera/we-re-gonna-take-what-s-ours-to-have-spread-the-word-throughout-the/) [Pantera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pantera/) > ['Priced to sell' - just the phrase makes me smile. When a dealer says all the items in his booth are priced to sell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/priced-to-sell-just-the-phrase-makes-me-smile-when-a-dealer-says-all/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) ## More by Adam Berlin > [“She takes another sip of her drink. She looks around the bar. I look at the fine muscles in her neck, at the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/she-takes-another-sip-of-her-drink-she-looks-around-the-bar-i-look-at/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“The digging continues ... Ground Zero it looks more and more like a construction site. Too much of the horror is gone. No fire.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/the-digging-continues-ground-zero-it-looks-more-and-more-like-a/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“And I'd noticed her eyes, the lightest blue, and alive, moving here and there and then staring straight on. And now there's darkness under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/and-i-d-noticed-her-eyes-the-lightest-blue-and-alive-moving-here-and/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“Anger, hate, blind temper, that crazy switch to destroy, all of it purified into discipline and control, the best side of boxing, Billy says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/anger-hate-blind-temper-that-crazy-switch-to-destroy-all-of-it/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“She can look at you and make you feel like you’re the only one in the world. Even if it’s not true, she can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/she-can-look-at-you-and-make-you-feel-like-you-re-the-only-one-in-the/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“Let's take a walk. You can show me some of your memories and I'll show you some of mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/let-s-take-a-walk-you-can-show-me-some-of-your-memories-and-i-ll-show/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“He can hit a man in the liver so the blood flow stops. It takes a full second before the pain registers and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/he-can-hit-a-man-in-the-liver-so-the-blood-flow-stops-it-takes-a-full/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“He wanted to break me, the me I'd made, the me I'd needed to make, my need, mine, my whole life since I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/he-wanted-to-break-me-the-me-i-d-made-the-me-i-d-needed-to-make-my/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“I try to remember everything, every thing, but sometimes I forget something. I don’t even know what it is sometimes, but I know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/i-try-to-remember-everything-every-thing-but-sometimes-i-forget/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“Her grief has not so much changed her as stripped her down, stripped her body and her face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/her-grief-has-not-so-much-changed-her-as-stripped-her-down-stripped/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) > [“I turn the water all the way hot, turn my back to the water, and I take it. I close my eyes and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/i-turn-the-water-all-the-way-hot-turn-my-back-to-the-water-and-i-take/) [Adam Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) [Explore all 12 Adam Berlin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/) ## More Avoidance quotes > [Unmarried couples should get married - that's an excellent tax avoidance measure, if a bit drastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whiting/unmarried-couples-should-get-married-that-s-an-excellent-tax/) [John Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whiting/) > [“Collect yourself: to smother what you feel, recall to order, summon in one place; making, like Orpheus, a system against loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-padel/collect-yourself-to-smother-what-you-feel-recall-to-order-summon-in/) [Ruth Padel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-padel/) > [All work is the avoidance of harder work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/all-work-is-the-avoidance-of-harder-work/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [“People spend entire lifetimes trying to avoid the things that have already happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-hartmann/people-spend-entire-lifetimes-trying-to-avoid-the-things-that-have/) [Silvia Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvia-hartmann/) > [America is not static. America is striving. And sometimes, America requires critique. Jingoism is an avoidance of realism. You can simultaneously love and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-blow/america-is-not-static-america-is-striving-and-sometimes-america/) [Charles M. Blow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-blow/) > [I am not in favour of the takeover of excellent and strategically important British companies by struggling foreign firms whose actions are fuelled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/i-am-not-in-favour-of-the-takeover-of-excellent-and-strategically/) [David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sainsbury-baron-sainsbury-of-turville/) > [Most human behavior is nothing other than the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/most-human-behavior-is-nothing-other-than-the-avoidance-of-pain-and/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [You can gain power by avoidance. You can gain power by doing certain things. You can gain much more power by meditating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-gain-power-by-avoidance-you-can-gain-power-by-doing-certain/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“If you love stress, practice avoidance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-rowe/if-you-love-stress-practice-avoidance/) [Sharon Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-rowe/) > [I've been trying to avoid my problems, and I don't know what to do. I get high, but when I come down, my problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/i-ve-been-trying-to-avoid-my-problems-and-i-don-t-know-what-to-do-i/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) > [All the textbooks talk about avoidance as a classic hallmark of anxiety disorder. So you need a therapist who is sympathetic and understanding but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/all-the-textbooks-talk-about-avoidance-as-a-classic-hallmark-of/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [I read recently in an article by G.K. Chesterton, that sex without gestation and parturition is like blowing the trumpets and waving the flags…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-russell/i-read-recently-in-an-article-by-g-k-chesterton-that-sex-without/) [Dora Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-russell/) > [Be truthful... and pay attention. I would also recommend the avoidance of credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/be-truthful-and-pay-attention-i-would-also-recommend-the-avoidance-of/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [“Most of us will do anything to avoid facing ourselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lolly-daskal/most-of-us-will-do-anything-to-avoid-facing-ourselves/) [Lolly Daskal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lolly-daskal/) > [The pleasant life is not produced by continual drinking and dancing, nor sexual intercourse, nor rare dishes of sea food and other delicacies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-pleasant-life-is-not-produced-by-continual-drinking-and-dancing/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) [Browse all 290 Avoidance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoidance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where it's clear we're avoiding each other, where no one wants to be touched, tagged, you're it”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Berlin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kind-of-tag-where-it-s-clear-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avoidance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kind-of-tag-where-it-s-clear-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/487/adam-berlin-36934_avoidance_we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kin_488910.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We play phone tag, back and forth, the kind of tag where it's clear we're avoiding each other, where no one…” — Adam Berlin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adam Berlin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-berlin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We play phone tag, back and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kind-of-tag-where-it-s-clear-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-berlin/we-play-phone-tag-back-and-forth-the-kind-of-tag-where-it-s-clear-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```