Tech-savvy Gen Z individuals are suffering from telephobia.

The fear of making or receiving phone calls, telephobia, can lead to anxiety and stress in daily life. Now, universities are offering classes to overcome this fear. Telephobia classes use various techniques, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, role-playing, and gradual exposure to phone interactions to help students adapt to talking on the phone. These classes aim to build confidence and improve communication skills, enabling individuals to handle phone conversations with ease.

According to CNBC, people born between 1997 and 2012, labeled Generation Z, are struggling with telephobia because they automatically default to texting and leaving voice notes but refrain from conversing with another being on the phone. Liz Baxter, a career advisor in the U.K, says that people have lost that skill. At Nottingham College, where Baxter works, they offer a telephobia seminar to help bring pupils’ phone skills up to par.

Baxter says that Gen Z’s anxiety stems from a fear of the unknown. “They associate the ringing phone with fear,” she explains. A 2024 survey of 2,000 U.K. adults found that almost 25% of 18 to 34-year-olds never pick up phone calls. About 61% of them say they prefer to message rather than receive an audio call.

Part of their anxiety stems from the fact they don’t know how their voice sounds on audio only calls, where on video calls, they can read the other person’s face and judge their reactions. They see visual clues, notes Baxter. She says that part of telephobia stems from the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baxter says the telephobia seminars offer tips on how to make phone calls less scary.

“The great thing about phone calls and audio calls is that you can cheat,” she points out. “You can use Post-it pads, and you can write yourself notes. The non-visual aspect of a telephone call can actually work in the students’ favor when it comes to supporting them to come up with the right answer.”

You can ease the anxiety by making sure your environment is safe and quiet and that your phone is charged and ready to go, notes Baxter. Do your research and write a script to help you verbalize what you want to say. The seminars also offer breathing exercise to help people relax if the phone call is making them feel overwhelmed.

Baxter reminds her students that phone calls can be positive and don’t always carry bad news. Someone could be calling to congratulate you on a job well done or share a happy event or invitation. She also emphasizes to her students that they have the power to end the call if it’s something they don’t want.

“I have the choice to end the phone call, and that gives me power,” she says.