Scared to speak on the phone? You might have telephobia, about 70% of Gen Zs do!

Ever heard of telephobia?

Telephobia - defined by most as a 'fear or anxiety around making and receiving telephone calls' - seems to be a growing phenomenon among Gen Z (people born from 1997 to 2012).

This means, when a phone rings, for many Gen Zs, it’s not a call to action—it’s a call to panic.

Studies from Nottingham College also show that about 70% of Gen Z prefer texting over calls, due to telephobia.

In 2024, 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds preferred texting over talking, with 23% never answering calls, according to a Uswitch survey of 2,000 UK adults.

According to research, the roots of telephobia are multifaceted. Gen Z has grown up with smartphones as multi-functional devices, prioritising text-based communication for control and privacy. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this, isolating young people for two years and stunting their social skills, while the University of Massachusetts Amherst links telephobia to social anxiety.

The rise of AI is also reshaping communication, offering both challenges and solutions for telephobia.

This anxiety around phone calls has become so prevalent that Nottingham College now offers seminars to help students aged 16-18 and older to conquer it.

While many generations before Gen Z learned phone etiquette partly because home phones still existed, that learned etiquette seems to be lost on the younger generation, believes Jacobs.

Jacobs explains how digital-first communication has reshaped social habits for some.