Changes in Communication Styles Among New Generations in America

Decline in Phone Use: A Small Lifestyle Change with Big Implications for Companies in the American Market

“I put the phone on silent,” “Feel free to send me a voice message,” or “Sorry, no signal” are some of the excuses young people use to avoid answering calls. According to a study, about 80% of Generation Z and Millennials are afraid of making or answering a call. But what is this about and, more specifically, what does it mean for customer service in the future?

The number and simultaneous use of mobile devices have grown significantly in today's digital age. You might be surprised to learn that the overall number of phone calls in America is drastically decreasing.

Millennials or Generation Y, born roughly between 1980 and 1994, and Generation Z, born roughly between 1995 and 2010, are the users who most frequently use the cell phone and interact with others through apps and social networks. But they are also the ones who have lost the habit of interacting in person.

Late millennials and early digital natives (Generation Z), often referred to as the “Silent Generation,” prefer to use apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, or social media to communicate when it's not necessary for the parties to meet in real-time. They prefer text messages and thus answer the phone less and less.

New generations believe that answering a call is an intrusion into daily life and always carries the risk that the call will take a long time. They also find that spontaneous calls are intrusive because they interrupt what they are doing. At the same time, there is no way to know how long a call will keep them occupied.

The fear of verbal confrontation and unpleasant conversations is another reason that drives young generations not to answer the phone. Messages, on the other hand, allow people to repeat and correct what is said and are therefore perceived as less risky than live phone calls. Their feature of asynchronous communication offers time to consider the content of the communication.

Finally, it seems that 4 out of 5 young people suffer from what we might call "Telephonophobia" or the anxiety caused by having to communicate with someone verbally. Many young people have admitted to needing to prepare before a call because they fear saying something unpleasant and panicking.