We spend most of the day with our smartphone and even get nervous when we can’t find it. Why is searching so stressful for so many of us?
According to a survey of office workers in the UK, 40% of baby boomers and 70% of millennials experience anxiety when the phone rings. And representatives of generation Z often tend to ignore calls.
Telephophobia is the fear or reluctance to make and answer phone calls. To date, most of the scientific evidence shows that many young people suffer from such a phobia.
So what exactly makes people worry about phone calls? Scientists believe it all comes down to fear of being judged. Most of our energy goes to pleasing others. And phone calls can challenge this need in a number of ways.
First, searches attract the attention of others and the person is in the center of attention. Cornell researchers have found that telephone conversations (when people only hear part of the conversation) are more distracting than full speech. In general, we want to avoid condemning anyone who might overhear.
But even if no one is listening to our conversations, a phone call is still a complex social interaction. In addition, 55% of human communication takes place visually, and this aspect is overlooked when speaking. Therefore, we can have negative thoughts with silence in response.
Also, anything can happen during a phone call and there won’t be time to think about how to answer it. Finally, phone calls in general take longer than text messages.
News cannot be equated with a doctor’s prescription. Consult an expert before making a decision.
Source: Ferra
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
