Phone calls make Gen Z anxious — a new college course aims to help them conquer their fears

What’s the No. 1 thing Gen Zs are whining about? Well, that’s a tough call.

When persnickety teens and twenty-somethings aren’t busy bellyaching over the use of passive aggressive emojis or the ills of ranch dressing, they’re apparently griping over the anxiety-inducing task of making and receiving formal phone calls.

But now, one school is putting those boo-hoos to bed.

“Phone anxiety is something we come across regularly,” Liz Baxter, a careers advisor at Nottingham College, explained to the BBC, adding that youngsters “simply don’t have the confidence” to use the telephone.

The UK institution is offering coaching sessions on phone confidence and etiquette to support Zoomers in overcoming their fear — known as telephonophobia.

Emotional symptoms of terror include delaying or avoiding making calls due to heightened distress, feeling extremely nervous prior to, during and after a call and obsessing over what will be said amid the discussion.

Nausea, an increase in heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness and muscular tension are the most common physical manifestations of the revolution.

And for a generation that wants to call all the shots, this odd angst might sound a bit phony.

However, recent research suggests that the apprehension to phone calls is associated with social anxiety, which stems from a fear of judgment or humiliation.

And Gen Zers would rather been deemed “disrespectful” brats than be body-slammed with the wave of horror that comes with jumping on the horn.

Instead, folks under age 27 are more inclined towards texting or communicating on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and SnapChat rather than engaging in voice-to-voice conversations — especially when they’re work-related or concerning matters of the heart.

The group’s aversion to giving someone a ring is so intense that heartbreakers within the demographic have even grown accustomed to the “brutal” act of breaking up with romantic partners via text.

“Most people would prefer it,” Kean, 26, previously stated about the digital dumping trend. “It saves a really awkward chat.”

But Baxter hopes to reverse the phone call curse that’s plaguing up-and-comers of the world.

Her college course comes complete with practical, classroom-based sessions, during which students strengthen their telephone skills in a series of role play activities, including answering questions that are commonly asked in interviews.

Rookies are also encouraged to call restaurants to ask what time they open, and shops to ask if a certain item is in stock.

The exercises test their boundaries in bite-sized ways, according to Baxter.

And the help couldn’t have come at a better time for her petrified pupils.

Donna, 16, said she was “mostly anxious” when the phone rang “because it’s normalized for our generation to be used to text messages — so if there’s a phone call I always think it’s an emergency.”

Evie, 17 also “hates” taking phone calls.

“The only people I’ll call are my mum or my dad,” said the teen. “But anyone else, I don’t want them to call me because it feels quite formal, and that’s not something I’m used to.”

“It’s unknown to our generation, we’ve grown up texting each other.”

Kyle Butterworth, 28, who spent most of his early 20s dreading phoners, told the BBC that he’s beginning to overcome telephonophobia. And he hopes that his peers will, too, soon get the hang of it.

“Make yourself in charge of the situation,” he advised. “Know what you’re going to say before you start the call.”

“After a while you’ll get to a point where you know what to say before you even say it, and it’ll naturally begin to flow.”