- Content: 
By India McCarty
Most people think Gen Z has done away with actual phone conversations, but a new report from Snapchat found that the majority of teens do speak on the phone — but not necessarily how you might expect.
“It’s a misconception that the phone call is dead,” Ceci Mourkogiannis, VP of Product at Snap Inc,” told Parents.
Snapchat’s report found that globally, their users “collectively talk for more than 1.7 billion minutes each day on average. That’s 30% more than this time last year.”
“Snapchatters in the US sent over 2.5 billion voice notes in Q1 of 2025,” the report continued. “That’s more than 650 million more voice notes than a year ago.”
Others are noticing an uptick in Gen Z’s voice-to-voice conversation, as well. Alisha Simpson-Watt, LCSW, BCBA, LBA, the founder of Collaborative ABA Services, LLC, told Parents that she has noticed young people are increasingly using video chats and voice notes to communicate.
“For some, it is easier to communicate their thoughts and feelings by speaking,” she explained. “Also, voice memos add a layer of personalization to the message because it is like you’re having a real-time conversation, except that you can answer when the time is more suitable.”
Related: Gen Z’s Latest Anxiety Caused by Phones? Telephobia
Duncan Brumby, a professor of human-computer interaction at University College London who researches the impact of call notifications on smartphone users, talked to The Guardian about why many young people feel anxiety about phone calls.
“I think what we’re doing is picking up an associative pattern. It’s almost like that classic conditioning experiment, where the bell is rung before the food arrives and the dog starts salivating,” he explained. “It’s the same thing when we hear our phone ringing, and it signifies to us that there’s probably something bad coming down the line.”
The Guardian shared that Brumby’s opinion is supported by a Uswitch survey, which found that 56% of 18-34 year-olds “assume a spontaneous call means bad news.”
While phone calls might still be a source of social anxiety for some young people, Simpson-Watt explained that phone conversations are an important part of developing proper communication skills.
Phone calls can sharpen your listening skills, help you pick up social cues that you might not have picked up on over text and limit your screen time.
Gen Z might not use their phones for traditional calls, but this new data shows that young people are finding new, creative ways to speak to each other, voice-to-voice, on the phone.
Read Next: Home Phones Are Making a Comeback — Here’s Why
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1