{"id":594,"date":"2025-02-25T16:27:21","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/?p=594"},"modified":"2025-02-25T16:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T16:27:22","slug":"why-our-generation-dreads-making-calls-and-how-to-make-them-without-losing-your-sht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/why-our-generation-dreads-making-calls-and-how-to-make-them-without-losing-your-sht\/","title":{"rendered":"Why our generation dreads making calls, and how to make them without losing your sh!t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">We\u2019re not going to tell you to just suck it up. Despite our crippling screen times, calling up a colleague fills us with dread<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the favourite gen z critiques is the \u2018always on their phones but can\u2019t make a call narrative.\u2019 Unfortunately for us, they\u2019re kind of right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A study by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uswitch.com\/\">Uswitch<\/a> found nearly 70% of 18-34-year-olds prefer texting, and 23% don\u2019t ever answer calls. Yet the average daily screen time for 18-24 year olds hits six <em>hours <\/em>and one minute, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/siteassets\/resources\/documents\/research-and-data\/online-research\/online-nation\/2024\/online-nation-2024-report.pdf?v=386238\">Ofcom<\/a> report<strong> <\/strong>back in November.<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve grown up in a world where there are countless ways to communicate and endless information at our fingertips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The nuances of texting in itself are overwhelming. Every app has a different way to interact, with so many options such as memes, photos, captions, emojis, voice notes and reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Texting itself has evolved into its own nuanced language with casual lowercase messages, ironic abbreviations, and chaotic punctuation (or lack thereof). A simple thumbs up from your dad feels slightly passive aggressive. Ellipses? Threatening. Every detail has meaning, and we\u2019ve grown up instinctively reading between the lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My dad&#39;s keyboard. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3SLjnLWmvc\">pic.twitter.com\/3SLjnLWmvc<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Diogo Sampaio (@diogosampaioART) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/diogosampaioART\/status\/1724550014024712319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 14, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve always been in a state of standby, constantly accommodating new forms of communication, and it\u2019s kind of exhausting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s no surprise that by the time we have to make a call, we\u2019re already burnt out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a text, at least you can wait a while, delete, ignore or sometimes even edit your response. With phone calls, it feels like you\u2019re on live broadcast, I mean it\u2019s just all so\u2026 <em>immediate<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to make phone calls less painful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e7b564c1fbc4262d29b7555f174d5604\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\">1. <strong>It\u2019s normal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re not alone, and if who you\u2019re calling is between 18-34-year-old, statistically speaking they are likely feeling the exact same way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f22ef45df3681e986c2256ffb33e424d\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\">2. <strong> The I don&#8217;t give a f*ck mentality <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you adopt a &#8220;not giving a f*ck&#8221; mentality with phone calls, you stop stressing about sounding perfect or worrying about annoying the other person. Call with zero fear\u2014if they don\u2019t like it, who cares? Speak your mind, get to the point, and move on. You\u2019re not there to please, you\u2019re there to get sh!t done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b973c66ec9de1bfeae79839bdb797241\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\"><strong>3. Silence is okay<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There will be pauses\u2026 Embrace it. It\u2019s the perfect time to think about what you\u2019re going to say next.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4441cf25f8eb25797d9acd3f28d0a7bc\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\"><strong>4. Control the setting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re about to type in that number and let it ring, get cosy or chuck some headphones on and walk around as you talk. Write down a question you want to ask, and keep it in front of you, that way you can write down any follow ups. Make yourself feel as comfortable as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5ef2483ee11b1c05f4861914f2b3cfa9\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\"><strong>5. Imagine you&#8217;re a professional caller<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When making phone calls, imagine you&#8217;re the secretary handling business. Own the call like it&#8217;s part of your job\u2014stay confident, be direct, and don\u2019t get sidetracked. You\u2019re in charge of getting the info you need, so ask questions, take control of the conversation, and don\u2019t apologise for being efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f14693b2d1dd9172e9c201879197f900\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\">6. Think about all those missed opportunities <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Think about it: skipping that phone call could cost you your dream job, or worse, you could miss out on opportunities others won\u2019t bother texting about because it feels too passive-aggressive. Plus, there are still relatives out there who don\u2019t own smartphones (yes, they exist). Pick up the phone and make that call\u2014you\u2019re not just avoiding awkwardness, you\u2019re building connections and keeping things real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With these tips, the possibilities are endless. You\u2019ll be up for calling anyone from your nan to your dentist. Or if not, just lie if you need to (maybe you\u2019re too busy explaining to your dead houseplant the meaning of life?). Who can blame you? You\u2019re in deep and it\u2019s a delicate process: so no time for calls right now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-676e31a13b9b4259be8b582c68d9e82d\" style=\"color:#e9ff00\">Follow us on Instagram for more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:13px\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ditch.magazine\/%22%3Ehttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ditch.magazine\/%3C\/a%3E\" style=\"border-radius:51px;background-color:#e9ff00\">DITCH Insta<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re not going to tell you to just suck it up. Despite our crippling screen times, hearing our phones start incessantly buzzing fills us with dread<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1204,"featured_media":595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[47,45,46],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-howto","tag-answering-phone","tag-anxiety","tag-phones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1022,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions\/1022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/ditch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}