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Comment by ev1 | Hacker News Reader

In my groups (gen z), I do not know a single person that even makes calls, ever. Phones are on silent/dnd.

If you ever get a "real" phone call (not via discord, whatsapp, etc) it's either something you are explicitly expecting unavoidably (you would try as hard as possible to get them to email you or text you) or it's a scammer.

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It's not just Gen Z. I'm a Gen X'er, approaching 50 fast, and I think I've had my phone on silent since 2011. More or less the same with my friends. The sound only gets switched on when expecting a call.

I'm an over 50 gen-x er. The protocol is to text first to see if I'm available to chat, and then do the call.

Unscheduled phone calls, if you're not my kids, go straight to voicemail.

This is my one and only gripe with "gen z".

Phone calls take 1% of the time to communicate complex ideas, I dont have to write documentation level explanations and I can hear your responses / tone and dynamically adjust to fit the conversation.

My feelings on this are especially prevalent at work, I understand more in an informal setting.

We have < 25's working in sales who HATE phone calls... it will be interesting to see how they make it in the future. The current "senior" sales reps go to the pub or play golf with clients & suppliers every now and then. I guess only the metrics will tell.

That being said if I have to text anyone > 40 I basically cry because they cant express any level of emotion over text and their over use punctuation I interpret as blunt.

God getting old is hard work (im only a > 25 < 30 something).

Interesting, I'm also a Gen Z and I prefer to call rather than text, especially if I'm organizing something with a group of friends. I often exchange phone numbers with people if I know I'm going to be seeing them again soon.

Oh wow, i didn't know that about gen z.

I don't know how well this generalises, but in my sample size most people including myself don't even know our own phone number if asked. You don't exchange phone numbers. You might hold out your phone for the other person to scan your Snapchat QR or tell them @hn2022 and a platform like instagram. If you say hn#2022 people know automatically which platform that is. A sizable amount don't even have phone numbers and opt for data plan only for cost savings if paying for their own plan.

Early thirties here: my friends and I do not call people except for older relatives on occasion. We've kept our phones on vibrate for a decade and a half now.

We do, however, know our own phone numbers, and asking a cute stranger or a new friend for their number is still a thing.

Interesting. I'm in my thirties, too and phone calls between me and close peers are quite common. Business also. Less so, than a decade ago though.

> We've kept our phones on vibrate for a decade and a half now

I get that you prefer not to call people. But why are you less interested in incoming calls (could be important)?

Very rarely have I found an incoming call to actually be important, unless it's something I'm anticipating (i.e. A callback from a doctor's office)

Not the GP, but my phone is almost always on my desk (when working), on the coffee table (when at home), in my pocket (when out and about), or hooked up to my car giving me music. I only rarely miss a call even though, other than when it's connected to the car audio system, my phone only vibrates when I get a call or message. It's pretty hard to miss. A ringtone would only help if I kept it in a separate room, which only happens when I forget it in the basement gym.

Could be? the signal to noise ratio is something like 1:100, and if it's important they'll leave a message.

For younger group, you don't generally know or give out your number in the first place for person to person communication, which means that for the rare chances you are expecting, say, a medical call once a quarter or less, it's a scam. I don't know my best friend of 10+ years phone number but I can reach them in multiple ways.

If you're older the ratio probably tips it further into the "likely to be a valid call" I'm guessing.

I receive something on the order of one legitimate call every 5-8 months, everything else is spam/scam. There is absolutely no point in me accepting a call.

A formal phone call is generally synchronous, not asynchronous. It is extremely blocking behaviour and I hate it. Joining a group call with a few friends or even just 1-2 other people on discord or whatever else that you can drop out at any time without notice is a different type of "mood" and completely different set of standards. You can drop in and out in seconds, pop in to say hi and leave while you have your airpods in on while riding bart, , or spend hours just discussing dumb shit, etc.

At least for me, most incoming calls are spam. If it's important, I will either anticipate it or the caller will leave a voicemail. In the past several months, I think I've received one unanticipated call from a friend.

I'm 40. My parents are the only people who call me ever.

Here's the thing, where I live (Canada) spam calls have become so bad that (unless you're in my contacts already) I almost never answer the phone. The scams aren't even in English most of the time :/

Actually it's filtered so that only 3 or so of my contacts get through the dnd.

*Scheduled calls / expected calls from specific companies are my one exception.

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