Millennials do not enjoy talking on the phone. While this affliction is more common in people born in the 80s and 90s, you can also be over the age of 40 and still dread answering the phone. Some millennials feel like talking on the phone is inefficient. They’ll use their phone for other things, including social media posts and dating, but calling on the phone seems like a relic from another time.
But that’s not the only thing that’s going on here. If you hate using your phone to talk to people, here are three possible explanations.
The signal is bad
If you’re a young person who talks to someone on the phone, there’s a good chance it’s one or both of your parents. We’ll do things for our parents that we might not do for our peers. But talking on the phone to Mom or Dad can be frustrating when the signal is bad, as most of the call involves you asking each other to repeat what you said.
This can happen with just about any cell phone company. It may not even be the fault of that cell phone company. It might have something to do with the type of building you’re in. The more solid the building, the more likely it is that you’ll have at least occasional problems with the reception. A Verizon signal booster is a worthwhile investment, since you’ll be able to hear every conversation loud and clear.
Depending on who you’re talking to, that may not always be great. But hey, at least you’ll have no doubt that your mom is asking, “When you are going to have kids?” for the third time this month.
We don’t know who’s calling
Say your phone rings, and it’s a local number, so you answer. Immediately, one of two things happens: it might be that a live person is trying to sell you something, which is frustrating. But having a robot respond might be even worse. Because in that situation, you know the person who wants your money couldn’t even bother calling themselves.
In 2019, half of all mobile phone calls are expected to be spam. In the past, you could just not answer phone numbers that weren’t local. But the scammers have adapted in unfortunate ways. If you’re in California and they’re overseas, they can simply use technology to “spoof” a local number so the spam caller appears to have the same area code as you.
In some cases, you’ll even get angry calls from real people who think you called them. If your number appeared on their Caller ID, that would usually be a reasonable assumption. But spam calls have their own set of rules, and this means they spoofed your phone number when calling someone.
First of all, you should know that the “IRS agent” on the other line is not real. No real government official would demand payment in iTunes gift cards. If you’re fed up, you can simply stop responding to callers that aren’t in your contacts list. It’s a drastic option, but it might be the best one available right now.
Texting requires less effort
Finally, there’s the simple fact that texting is less stressful and (frankly) invasive than talking on the phone. You can talk to someone via text whether you’re on the subway or in bed. You don’t have to clear your throat first. If you’ve been talking all day at work, then texting isn’t going to make you lose your voice.
A text can also be a clearer way to communicate than a voice call. Voice calls are more subject to misinterpretation. You may say one thing, but the person you’re talking to might hear something else entirely, especially if they’re in a noisy environment. Sometimes things like sarcasm can be harder to pick up over text, but at least the other person will be able to read the words you sent.
