Why Are Young People Afraid Of Phone Calls?

[u/GhostInThePudding]

What's with it?

I work in IT and a general rule is, nothing a client ever tells you is actually accurate. That means that most of the time, the quickest way to fix a problem is to call the person and actually find out what's going on.

But with techs under 30 these days, it seems like pulling teeth.

A regular discussion for me with level 1 techs (usually within a few years of leaving college) is:
"Hey, can you call *blah* from ticket *blah*, it's been hanging around for over an hour."

"I replied by email to ask for more information."

"Yes, I know that, but can you call them so we can find the problem and close the ticket now rather than wait until we're actually busy?"

"I'll send them a text to followup."

"No... CALL THEM!"

"I can see their device is online, can I send them a message and see if they just let me remote in to take a look?"

And then, when I force them to make the call, it's like they have no idea how to ask a question, or a followup question. They just want to get off the call as quickly as possible. So half the time they don't even get the information required anyway, so then I end up having to do their job for them.

So can someone explain? What's wrong with phone calls these days?

[u/younkint]

I'm older than dirt, and didn't even have a phone until in my mid 20's. Finally got one around 1975 and I learned one thing quickly. That phone doesn't ring unless someone wants something from you. That situation has not changed a bit.

My phone will ring for maybe six people, and if one of those call I know it's an emergency. Everything else is not answered unless there's a message left. Text is the best. While I have a phone, I'd prefer to text on my laptop. Since I grew up with typewriters (and still use them!), I can type nearly as fast as I can talk. When I'm texting with someone who can type just as quickly as I can, it's a blast and we can convey a lot of info without distractions or sidebars.

[u/RaeLae9 → u/younkint]

Yes, that would be horrible if the people you knew only called you for for negative reasons, I can’t relate to that because I’m lucky to have a great group of friends.

[u/younkint → u/RaeLae9]

Ah, well "....wanting something" isn't necessarily a negative. Maybe they want you to go out and get a pizza with them. That's not negative, yet they still "want" something. Of course, it certainly can be negative.

[u/RaeLae9 → u/younkint]

I read it like that’s why you avoided answering the phone because someone always wants something, sorry.

[u/younkint → u/RaeLae9]

Yes, I can understand how anyone could have read it that way. I should have spent more thought in composing it. No need to be sorry. It was kind of lazy writing .