If you are on call one week every 3 months, it's mostly the calls that are annoying, especially at night.
If you are on call more often (e.g. 1/2 weekend for small companies/teams), it stops mattering how often pages happen. You are mentally on-call all the time and are forced to be physically ready. It's a huge drain on your life.
It depends on the arrangement too. If you're on a flat rate for being on call, being called out is the worst part. If you only get paid if you get called, being called out kind of makes it worth changing your plans.
I get a small amount for each day I'm on call, plus an extra payment if I'm actually called. That seems a fair balance - I'm compensated reasonably for making myself available, and the actual callout payment makes it worth getting up at 3am a couple of times a year.
I'm on call a day at a time roughly every nine days or so. It definitely matters how often pages happen. On my team they are very infrequent, so being oncall is hardly a burden at all. I just have to remember to bring my laptop.
Maybe it's a psychological thing, with different people responding differently. But it isn't a huge drain on my life, at all.
If you are on call one week every 3 months, it's mostly the calls that are annoying, especially at night.
If you are on call more often (e.g. 1/2 weekend for small companies/teams), it stops mattering how often pages happen. You are mentally on-call all the time and are forced to be physically ready. It's a huge drain on your life.