Is Talking on the Phone Dead for Gen Z? Not Quite
Fact checked by Sarah Scott
I'll tell you how old I am without telling you how old I am: When I was a teenager, you had to call someone if you wanted to talk to them. We didn't yet have texting, voice notes, or video chats. Fast forward (muffled) years later, and my kids have any number of options when it comes to communicating with friends and family.
Talking on the phone is usually last on many teens' list of preferred methods. As my 14-year-old told me, calling someone is 'awkward.' She's not alone: one study from Australia found awkward phone calls are one of the top three things 42% of Gen Z wants to avoid. Instead, my teen relies on video chats or voice notes to stay in (constant) touch.
Traditional phone calls may not be the cool thing to do these days, but talking is actually on the rise, according to a new report from Snapchat, a social media platform the Pew Research Center found 60% of teens use.
'It's a misconception that the phone call is dead," says Ceci Mourkogiannis, VP of Product at Snap Inc. Teens are just changing what talking on the phone looks like—and there are benefits to that too.
The Snapchat report, released in June 2025, says it's actually a myth that young people aren't talking on the phone. According to the data:
Snapchatters, made up of Gen Z and Millennials, collectively talk for more than 1.7 billion minutes on average every day. That's 30% more than this time last year.
Voice notes are a very popular way for young people to communicate. Snapchatters in the U.S. sent over 2.5 billion voice notes in the first three months of 2025 alone. That's over 650 million more voice notes than a year ago!
It's important to note that, according to Snap, the data around talking includes both video and voice chats. Mourkogiannis explains meaningful connection happens when people communicate in the way that feels most natural to them—be that sending a Snap, recording a voice note, or hopping on the phone.
'We're thrilled to see our community is actually talking more than ever before,' she adds.
Meanwhile, Alisha Simpson-Watt, LCSW, BCBA, LBA, the founder of Collaborative ABA Services, LLC, says she has noticed teens gravitating toward video chats and voice notes, and texting going by the wayside.
'For some, it is easier to communicate their thoughts and feelings by speaking,' Simpson-Watt explains. 'Also, voice memos add a layer of personalization to the message because it is like you're having a real-time conversation, except that you can answer when the time is more suitable.'
Plus, video chats and voice notes can offer a stronger sense of connection helping to reduce feelings of loneliness which is on the rise, particularly among younger generations."Voice memos add a layer of personalization to the message because it is like you're having a real-time conversation, except that you can answer when the time is more suitable."Of course, communication is generally regarded as a positive thing. But do our kids stand to lose anything if they aren't engaging in good old-fashioned phone conversations?
Simpson-Watt acknowledges that our modern world necessitates increasing reliance on technology, but points to the possibility that the lack of 'real' interaction may be feeding teens' social anxieties.
'Younger people tend to prefer to talk with people face-to-face on the phone rather than in person,' she says.
Furthermore, Simpson-Watt has noticed that younger people can be more avoidant about making simple phone calls.
'For example, younger kids may be more hesitant to call and make their own doctor appointments, as it is more nerve-wracking since they don't personally know the person they are speaking to,' she elaborates.
Teens excel at sending voice notes, setting up a video chat with multiple people, and ordering just about anything via app. But I can't be alone in wanting my adolescents to still be able to thrive offline in an authentic way, and without breaking into a cold sweat.
According to Simpson-Watt, encouraging kids to incorporate phone and in-person conversations into their lives is key.
'Communicating with others, whether it is on the phone or in real life, is very important even with all the technology we have today, as communication allows us to bond and connect with others more personally,' she advises.
Other benefits of communicating without the help of technology include:
Sharpening listening skills
Picking up social cues that may not come through via text or voice note
Limiting screen time
So, while video calls and voice memos are fun and trendy, encouraging our kids to engage in traditional calls and more in-person socializing as often as possible can go a long way.
Read the original article on Parents
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Is Talking on the Phone Dead for Gen Z? Not Quite
Fact checked by Sarah Scott I'll tell you how old I am without telling you how old I am: When I was a teenager, you had to call someone if you wanted to talk to them. We didn't yet have texting, voice notes, or video chats. Fast forward (muffled) years later, and my kids have any number of options when it comes to communicating with friends and family. Talking on the phone is usually last on many teens' list of preferred methods. As my 14-year-old told me, calling someone is 'awkward.' She's not alone: one study from Australia found awkward phone calls are one of the top three things 42% of Gen Z wants to avoid. Instead, my teen relies on video chats or voice notes to stay in (constant) touch. Traditional phone calls may not be the cool thing to do these days, but talking is actually on the rise, according to a new report from Snapchat, a social media platform the Pew Research Center found 60% of teens use. 'It's a misconception that the phone call is dead," says Ceci Mourkogiannis, VP of Product at Snap Inc. Teens are just changing what talking on the phone looks like—and there are benefits to that too. The Snapchat report, released in June 2025, says it's actually a myth that young people aren't talking on the phone. According to the data: Snapchatters, made up of Gen Z and Millennials, collectively talk for more than 1.7 billion minutes on average every day. That's 30% more than this time last year. Voice notes are a very popular way for young people to communicate. Snapchatters in the U.S. sent over 2.5 billion voice notes in the first three months of 2025 alone. That's over 650 million more voice notes than a year ago! It's important to note that, according to Snap, the data around talking includes both video and voice chats. Mourkogiannis explains meaningful connection happens when people communicate in the way that feels most natural to them—be that sending a Snap, recording a voice note, or hopping on the phone. 'We're thrilled to see our community is actually talking more than ever before,' she adds. Meanwhile, Alisha Simpson-Watt, LCSW, BCBA, LBA, the founder of Collaborative ABA Services, LLC, says she has noticed teens gravitating toward video chats and voice notes, and texting going by the wayside. 'For some, it is easier to communicate their thoughts and feelings by speaking,' Simpson-Watt explains. 'Also, voice memos add a layer of personalization to the message because it is like you're having a real-time conversation, except that you can answer when the time is more suitable.' Plus, video chats and voice notes can offer a stronger sense of connection helping to reduce feelings of loneliness which is on the rise, particularly among younger generations."Voice memos add a layer of personalization to the message because it is like you're having a real-time conversation, except that you can answer when the time is more suitable."Of course, communication is generally regarded as a positive thing. But do our kids stand to lose anything if they aren't engaging in good old-fashioned phone conversations? Simpson-Watt acknowledges that our modern world necessitates increasing reliance on technology, but points to the possibility that the lack of 'real' interaction may be feeding teens' social anxieties. 'Younger people tend to prefer to talk with people face-to-face on the phone rather than in person,' she says. Furthermore, Simpson-Watt has noticed that younger people can be more avoidant about making simple phone calls. 'For example, younger kids may be more hesitant to call and make their own doctor appointments, as it is more nerve-wracking since they don't personally know the person they are speaking to,' she elaborates. Teens excel at sending voice notes, setting up a video chat with multiple people, and ordering just about anything via app. But I can't be alone in wanting my adolescents to still be able to thrive offline in an authentic way, and without breaking into a cold sweat. According to Simpson-Watt, encouraging kids to incorporate phone and in-person conversations into their lives is key. 'Communicating with others, whether it is on the phone or in real life, is very important even with all the technology we have today, as communication allows us to bond and connect with others more personally,' she advises. Other benefits of communicating without the help of technology include: Sharpening listening skills Picking up social cues that may not come through via text or voice note Limiting screen time So, while video calls and voice memos are fun and trendy, encouraging our kids to engage in traditional calls and more in-person socializing as often as possible can go a long way. Read the original article on Parents
Fox News
a day ago
- Fox News
Catholicism sees major resurgence among Gen Z, with young men leading the revival
Young men are driving a growing surge in Catholicism among Gen Z, as they turn to faith as an answer to loneliness, cultural drift and a search for purpose. A Harvard University study shows that Gen Zers who identified as Catholic rose by 6% between 2022 and 2023, a shift that Father Michael Tidd — headmaster of Delbarton School, a Benedictine Catholic school for young men in grades 7-12 in Morristown, New Jersey — says he has witnessed himself. "We present our students with an experience of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We propose, we don't impose, and they come to us, and that seems to be really resonant with them," he shared with "Fox & Friends" on Thursday. "For the last several years, we have also had students be received into the church, either be baptized as Catholics for the first time or to receive all of their sacraments, because the experience that they have had here… of what it means particularly to be a man in our society, what it needs to be a believing man, a Catholic Christian man, really resonates with our students. And the larger things that you read about in our society about how… what it means to be man, is really a difficult question for a lot of young men to answer. I think our school and the Catholic Church more broadly and the Catholic faith more broadly provide a compelling answer to that." Father Tidd said he sees students responding to that question in a faith-based way "every day." Students at Delbarton come from a variety of backgrounds – some from practicing Catholic families, others from non-Catholic families – but all are presented with what it means to be a Catholic Christian both in the theology classroom and while doing service out in the world. Father Tidd described the school's retreat experiences as a "real game-changer" for students as well as the "common worship" at mass and morning prayer that brings together all students. The sense of community is an answer to disturbing findings like a recent Gallup Poll, which found that younger men in the U.S. were "among the loneliest in the West." More specifically, one in four men under the age of 35 reported feeling lonely the prior day, the data revealed. In a video address last week to the faithful in his hometown of Chicago, Pope Leo XIV sent a message of encouragement to young Americans. "So many people who suffer from different experiences of depression or sadness — they can discover that the love of God is truly healing, that it brings hope," the newly elected pontiff said. Father Tidd suggested that young men affected by loneliness take initiative and find others who share common experiences, dreams, ambitions and, together, work to find answers to questions about meaning and purpose. "That's one of the benefits of coming to a Catholic school, is that we have that structure that if a student wishes to take advantage of – particularly not just in class, but on athletic teams or extracurriculars – when you form those tight bonds, then you can begin to ask those deep questions," he added.
Atlantic
a day ago
- Atlantic
The Art of Self-Control in the Face of Provocation
Want to stay current with Arthur's writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out. Unless you inhabit a hermit cave with no internet access, you'll know that we live in the Age of Offense. With high levels of polarization and innumerable ways to broadcast one's every thought to strangers far and wide, it is easier than ever to lob insults and to denigrate ideological foes. Not surprisingly, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center study, 47 percent of Americans believe that people saying things that are 'very offensive' to others is a major problem in the country today, whereas only 11 percent say it is not a problem. (The remainder says it is a minor problem.) You might conclude that the solution is for people to stop offending others—good luck with that!—but consider another statistic in the same poll: A larger percentage of Americans (62 percent) says another big problem is 'people being too easily offended by things others say.' These are not at all mutually exclusive findings; they suggest that we are simultaneously too offensive and too thin-skinned. The second issue, however, is the one on which I wish to focus, because, for most people, being too easily offended is worse for one's own quality of life than being obnoxiously rude. So instead of spending your efforts trying to stamp out what you find offensive, you should work on being less offended in the first place. Arthur C. Brooks: The bliss of a quieter ego The foundational study on the psychology of taking offense—one still frequently cited today—was written in 1976 by the psychologist Wolfgang Zander. He argued that we get offended in three stages: First, we identify when we're insulted or harshly contradicted; second, we assess how extreme the offense is; finally, we respond emotionally or in some behavioral way. Say, for example, a colleague at work says in a meeting, in front of your boss, that your latest proposal is stupid. You identify this as a contradiction of your ideas; you assess this as mildly annoying; you decide to register your unhappiness in an appropriate manner with your colleague after the meeting. I chose this example because research has found that such a negative judgment from another person is precisely what we typically deem most offensive. Scholars in 2018 showed in a survey of 129 people that 73 percent of cases of offense-taking was for threats to dominance or competence. The other 27 percent of instances related to attacks on goodwill or appearance. This reminded me that someone on social media once called me a bald guy who writes bad columns. The first part reminded me of something I don't love, but it didn't offend me—hey, the truth is the truth—but the second part stung a little. People react to offenses in different ways. That same study found that women, when offended, are more likely than men to experience sadness and bitterness, whereas men are more likely to experience pride (manifested as indignation) and anger. Another study found that when an offense is highly hurtful, the most common reaction is acquiescence, which might involve tearfulness or even apologizing. When an offense is less hurtful, the most common reaction is to laugh or ignore it. However we react, our response can be less under our conscious control than is perhaps implied by the example that I gave of Zander's three-stage process. That's because an offense triggers parts of our ancient brain, notably the limbic system, which indicates a threat. The workings of this strong primal structure raise the possibility of more-drastic action: fighting, verbally or physically. Here, too, reactions differ by gender. Males are more likely than females to respond to an offense with aggression, including violence. Fortunately, this outcome is unusual for either sex because the brain's executive center—the prefrontal cortex—inhibits the amygdala's fight response. The way this works in practice is that when someone says something offensive, you initially feel furious (limbic system), but then you tell yourself Don't freak out (prefrontal cortex), and you manage to act calmly. As you may have noticed, some people exhibit more effective inhibition than others. Scholars have shown that the likelihood of a violent response to an offense is far higher among people with substance-use disorders—especially when that condition is paired with mental illness. By the same token, men convicted of violent crimes have been shown to have weaker-than-average connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex when they face a personal insult. The point of describing the neurological and psychological mechanisms that underpin taking offense is that knowledge is power. If you know what's happening to you when you feel offended, that's the first step toward controlling how you respond. Arthur C. Brooks: The beauty that moral courage creates Naturally, life is happier if you're not being offended. One strategy is to try avoiding anyone who might offend you and put up barriers against any exposure to them. If this involves curating your friendships to shun someone who's liable to hurt your feelings repeatedly, that's fine. But if taking measures against being offended means shutting down free speech on your college campus, that is less likely to go well for you or serve your purpose. Those techniques involve trying to control your environment, but the more you try to expand the scope of that control, the less effective and the more costly it will become for you and others. Better by far to control yourself —by learning to be less offended. The studies I mentioned above suggest several strategies to do just that and help you live more happily as a result. 1. Laugh it off. Remember that when an offense is not grave, the most common reaction is to ignore it or laugh. This is a very good option because it makes you the judge of how severe the offense is, rather than cede that judgment to some outside arbitrator. You don't have to laugh in a defiant, bitter way; on the contrary, you can usually effectively neutralize another's jab with self-deprecating humor. (I'm bald? Tough but fair.) Doing so can actually raise your self-esteem. Scholars have also shown that, especially if you are a team leader, this kind of joke can actually increase others' trust in you and boost their perception of your effectiveness. You can imagine how this could work in business or in sports, but you can use the same tactic to maintain your position in other situations. 2. Use your prefrontal cortex. I teach my business-school students that the most important management job they have is self -management—to understand their emotions and act independently of them. Admittedly, this skill is harder for some people than others, but we can all improve with determination and practice. Many techniques for activating your brain's executive center exist: prayer, journaling, meditation. If you're facing an interaction with a troublesome person, I'd recommend reading this passage from the Stoic classic Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius: It is the privilege of human nature to love those that disoblige us. To practice this, you must consider that the offending party is of kin to you, that ignorance is the cause of the misbehavior, and the fault is involuntary, that you will both of you quickly be in your graves; but especially consider that you have received no harm by the injury, for your mind is never the worse for it. 3. Tune out the offense-making machines. You can't eliminate all offense from your life, but you certainly don't have to go looking for it. Yet that is effectively what you're doing when you consume a lot of controversial, limbic-system-triggering media content. If you are spending an inordinate amount of time reading political opinions or watching cable-news talking heads, for example, you are probably outraged constantly—even more so if you are very online as well. One way to feel less aggrieved about what other people are saying or posting is simply to cut all that out of your life: Turn off the TV; delete the app. Arthur C. Brooks: A defense against gaslighting sociopaths One more aspect of offense-taking is worth considering, especially in today's contentious ideological environment. A novel recent experiment tested participants for whether they were more prosocial or more pro-self (a way to test for narcissistic tendencies). The researchers then randomly administered electric shocks to 5 percent of participants, and offered a monetary reward to those who got one. Payment was on the honor system, though, so the researchers paid up when participants said they'd received a shock, whether it was true or not. The high pro-self participants were by far the most likely to lie, saying they'd been shocked when they hadn't, and take the money. Surprising, right? Not really. Scholars have noted that people with a 'proclivity to be offended' tend to be poor performers at work and prone to all kinds of counterproductive behavior. Such prickly people are very likely to be narcissists, because their offense-taking is driven by an overweening sense of entitlement and an unwillingness to overlook any sleight; they may even feign being offended— shocked, even—to gain advantage. So, of course, you should be sensitive and empathetic if you see others being harmed around you. But especially when the hurt is nothing more than a speech act, also consider that being offended may not be reliable evidence of true offensiveness. It might instead be evidence that a person who claims to be offended is not acting in good faith.
