It's been awhile since I had to set up voice mail, and I've never owned a cell, but it sounds like you're saying that setting up voice mail is:

(a) something people realize they probably should get around to at some point,
(b) something that's fairly straightforward, and
(c) something people are nonetheless afraid to attempt, because the technology scares them.

Of course, if it's also (d) something that people speak unashamedly of being unable to figure out, then it's also the modern counterpart to "setting the VCR to record something later".