Nottingham College teaches young people how to overcome fear of phone calls

Nottingham College is teaching young people how to overcome the fear of phone calls to support students with “Telephobia”.

Nottingham College started running sessions on “phone confidence and etiquette” to aid students who are struggling with phone calls to overcome their fear.

The teaching stemmed from how young people today “simply don’t have the confidence” to engage in formal phone conversations.

70% of young adults (aged 18-34) prefer to communicate using text messages instead of by phone call

70% of young adults (aged 18-34) prefer to communicate using text messages instead of by phone call, according to a study conducted by Uswitch.

23% of respondents within the age group said they never answer phone calls.

The study found that young people also favour using voice messages and social media to communicate rather than the phone.

Evie, 17-year-old Nottingham College student, stated: “The only people I’ll call are my mum or my dad.”

She shared that she dislikes phone calls from other people as “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”.

Nyah, 16-year-old Nottingham College student, said she “dreads” phone calls as she uses her body language to talk so “I can’t convey what I’m trying to say over the phone”.

16-year-old student, Donna told the BBC: “It’s normalised for our generation to be used to text messages”.

She shared that she felt “mostly anxious” every time her phone rang. The coaching sessions aim to encourage the younger generation to become more confident when making phone calls.

 If there’s a phone call I always think it’s an emergency

– Donna, Nottingham College student

Donna added: “If there’s a phone call I always think it’s an emergency.”

George Heritage, Express Recruitment Client Services Manager, reported to the BBC that anxiety over making phone calls is having an impact on business. He is happy to see that this is being acted upon.

He stated that they have “definitely seen an increase in phone anxiety in recent years”.

Heritage further added: “Particularly post-Covid, there’s been a definite trend.”