Student A (Dept. of Media & Communication, 21) feels extremely nervous ahead of a public phone call. It has become a daily routine to have up to an hour of preparation time to make a call. Student A confessed, “I get so nervous when I have to make a phone call,” and “I don’t want to talk on the phone unless I have to.”

The phenomenon of avoiding phone communication and preferring to communicate via text message, mobile messenger, and e-mail is increasing, centering on the 20s and 30s. This phenomenon is called “call phobia,” which means feeling awkward and afraid of phone calls and is considered one of the obstacles in social life.

■“Text is better than burdensome phone calls.”

As a result of a survey “Communication Preference” conducted on 1,000 male and female adults aged 19 to 59 nationwide by Trend Monitor, a market research company, from November 30th to December 2nd, 2022, the degree of telephone communication preference among people in their 20s and 30s were found to be significantly lower. Only 14.4% in their 20s and 16.0% in their 30s preferred phone communication among various means of contact. On the other hand, in the case of text communication, 58.4% in the 20s and 61.6% - a high figure was recorded in the 30s. This contrasts with those in their 40s and 50s who prefer text communication (47.2% in their 40s, 40.4% in their 50s). As evidenced by these results, various TV programs such as MBN’s “Office Villain,” and “Coupang Play” utilize young new employees who cannot answer work calls as their regular subjects.

People, who complain of call phobia, felt extremely stressed from talking on the phone itself. At Pusan National University (PNU), it was easy to find students with the symptoms. Student B (Dept. of Architectural Engineering, 19) said, “When I get a call on my cell phone, my heart beats fast, and my hands are sweaty.” He cited fear of an unprepared situation, concern for slips of the tongue, and discomfort with silence during the phone call as reasons for feeling nervous on the phone. Student B said, “If I have to make a phone call, I organize my words on a notepad and simulate it (before calling), but it is true that there are cases where I get nervous even if I do this.”

There were cases of not answering the phone at all out of fear. Student A said, “I feel a lot of pressure, so I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t know. My acquaintances know I have a call phobia, so they would have left a text first (if they needed to be contacted urgently).” Recently, while participating in club activities and external activities, he has frequent phone calls with people in charge of various organizations, and his worries have increased.

Those who feel a lot of pressure on the phone said that they mostly prefer text communication. This is because text communication can be sent the answer after thinking, and it is also possible to modify it. Student B said, “It is less tense because each person can reply when they have time. Unless a phone call is necessary, I communicate via text.”

■“Creating an environment that can activate communication with others.”

Experts point to the environmental factors in their 20s and 30s who are familiar with digital devices as the cause of the preference for text communication among the younger generation. Kim Bum-Soo (Prof. of Media & Communication, PNU), who is conducting the “Interpersonal Communication” class at PNU, diagnosed, "With the advent of “Digital Natives,” which refers to the generation who are familiar with digital devices since childhood, text-oriented communication has become more natural." As Digital Natives have a good understanding of the features of media, the younger generation prefers text-oriented communication methods that can reduce their speech mistakes and do not require immediate replies.

Professor Kim emphasized the need to increase opportunities for interpersonal communication. This is because there are cases in which people are reluctant to meet face-to-face beyond getting used to digital devices. He said, “There is a need to increase opportunities for face-to-face communication through lectures, clubs, and on-campus and off-campus programs that allow students to communicate with each other. Meeting a variety of people who are different from me helps (to overcome my fear of the phone).” He continued, adding, "As people simply prefer text communication rather than feeling fear and panic of phone calls, we need to think about using the term “call phobia.”

Kim Jung-Ah (Prof. of Media & Communication, PNU) suggested ways to overcome call phobia through adaptation. It is to start adaptation training from a phone call with a close acquaintance and expand the number of people on the phone. Professor Kim Jeong-Ah said, "Speaking, including phone calls, is an important element in life that we cannot live without. For PNU students who have difficulty conversing with others, I recommend “Speech Theory” classes in the Department of Media Communication and liberal arts courses, such as the “Presentation and Expressive Skills' class.”

Reporter Jung Hye-Eun

Translated by Kim Hyeon-Hee