Millennials Shun Voice Calls in Favor of Texting

A growing number of young people are developing "call phobia" which makes them reluctant to make voice calls and rely only on text messages.

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The development puts a new spin on an older generation's complaint that phone calls were replacing meetings in person.

In a 2014 study by the Korea Internet and Security Agency, 79.4 percent of respondents said they use their smartphones for online chat but only 70.7 percent said they use the devices to make voice calls. Respondents could name multiple uses.

One 46-year-old door-to-door parcel deliveryman said, "One out of every three to four young customers these days communicate only by text messaging. I wonder why they bother to text me when I can explain everything to them by phone in less than a minute".

And a 31-year-old freelance writer admits, "I need more than 10 minutes to psych myself up for a voice call because I have to write down what I'm going to say. Most of my communication is done via messaging so I feel awkward making voice calls".

The prevalence of mobile text messaging and ease of ordering and purchasing products online has made it increasingly less necessary to make voice calls.

Lee Jong-soo (27), a single jobseeker, said, "I don't think I make any phone calls that last more than a minute, apart from to my parents. I wonder if I really need to call people when there are so many other ways I can communicate with them".