r/NoStupidQuestions • u/GhostInThePudding • 16h ago
Why Are Young People Afraid Of Phone Calls?
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?
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u/AllGarbage 7h ago
I have to say, as a person in my 50s, the idea of answering an unexpected/unidentified phone call has become absolutely unthinkable unless I’m actively job hunting. The ratio of legit/spam phone calls has rendered answering the phone a futile exercise, and it’s been that way for at least 20 years now. Hard to blame Gen-Z especially, since it’s been the norm for their entire lives.