Generation Z have been the first generation of 100% digital natives. Have grown with a Smartphone in the hands as an extension of themselves and with permanent Internet access that allows them to do anything with just a couple of clicks.
However, there is something that makes less and less: telephone. His phobia a Talk to someone by phone It is such that even a university in the United Kingdom has implemented a class to help its younger students deal with their “telephobia.”
Don’t call me, I’m Genzer. A survey of the British Uswitch hiring and telecommunications platform revealed that 23% of young people between 18 and 34 years in the United Kingdom Never attend phone calls. One of the reasons is because, 56% of respondents assume that the call is associated with bad news. The increase in spam and fraud calls has also caused the youngest Extent the calls.
Instead, others prefer Asynchronous communication systems such as text messages, emails or social networks, which allow them to think before responding, avoiding the immediacy and possible discomfort of a telephone conversation.
Telephone, the new Z disease. According to He informed The British BBC, Nottingham College is organizing training sessions for her students in which trust and protocol are worked during phone calls to help young people from generation z to overcome their phobia to make or receive phone calls, a syndrome known as Telephobia.
Liz Baxter, an advisor to that university, assured the BBC that “young people simply have no confidence” to use the phone as their parents or grandparents did, and that leaves them in a clear labor disadvantage. “Telephone -related anxiety is something we are often,” Baxter explained.
Telephone anxiety. As he counted Zoia Tarasovasocial anthropologist to Fortunethere are several reasons why generation Z can feel apprehension when speaking on the phone. “This reflects a broader fatigue with immediacy and urgency, where people have tired of the culture of discomfort and obsession with efficiency. People are silently rebeling against this immediacy taking their time to respond to those calls “Tarasova said.
Written communication gives them greater control over how they are presented and how they respond. They can edit their messages to reflect exactly what they want to express and find information before answering to avoid uncomfortable or misunderstood situations. In addition, young people fear not knowing what to say, mistake or not understand the other person well, and they are worried about interrupting someone or being interrupted, which they consider disrespectful.
Telephone subject. In the telephone communication class, young people affected by Telefobia practice the roles of each interlocutor simulating phone calls to communicate effectively by phone. The objective of this class is to provide students with the tools and trust necessary to develop with ease in This type of conversations.
They are taught to plan the calls, to actively listen, to answer questions clearly and concisely, and to handle difficult or unexpected situations. Some of the practical exercises they perform is to call restaurants to obtain information about their schedules or ask about products availability, so that their skills are improving.
It is not a minor problem. Unlike Other technologies They can be more or less obsoletetelephone calls are a tool that is still very present in the workplace. That conditions very seriously to those who suffer from Telefobia since they subtract them Opportunities in the labor market.
Casey Halloran, executive and co -founder director of the online travel agency Namu Travelexplained to Fortune that telephobia had become a very real problem in its office. “He has never seen anything similar to the generational gap” that exists between the older and young agents.
“We have been doing extensive training, offering incentives, observing calls with our veteran representatives and even hiring a business psychologist. After more than two years of this fight, we are almost at the point of giving up and adopting the SMS and the webchat in Place to continue fighting against wind and tide, “the manager lamented.
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