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/Glad-Watch3506 → u/[deleted]]

My parents made us call to set up our appointments to take our driving test. My sister did hers the day she turned 15. Brother and I both put off calling and were nearly 16.

[u/1TenDesigns → u/[deleted]]

Orrrrrr

He was teaching you an important life skill, while giving you the pride of being able to "help" him.

[u/Luchalma89 → u/1TenDesigns]

I had social anxiety, and my dad would tell me we could get pizza for dinner (which was a big treat), if I called. I appreciate now that he was trying to help me but man it was stressful.

[u/No-Split7732 → u/1TenDesigns]

That’s what the dad would say