Diary of a Gen Z student: Call someone? I’d need a very good reason to do that 

“But what if there’s an emergency?” What do you expect me to do over the phone, during a bloody emergency?

Irish Examiner columnist Jane Cowan photographed at her home in Dunshaughlin, County Meath. Photo: Barry Cronin

Nothing is more bizarre to me than watching as someone hears their phone ring, and they simply pick up. No hesitation. They just answer. They don’t even check who’s calling. Complete eejits. 

Like seriously, in 2024, how are you not screening your phone calls? Call me precious, but if I can’t check who’s calling me, I’m not answering. Simple as. I’m not getting roped into any conversations I don’t want to have, thank you. Cold calling (calling without warning) is so out.

Honestly, I make almost zero phone calls. The very thing the phone was designed to do, feels like saying the rosary after dinner — a relic of the past. 

I use my phone to text, shop, order Deliveroo, scroll through Instagram reels, and find nail art inspo on Pinterest. But call someone? I’d need a very good reason to do that.

Once you’ve been caught in a conversation over the phone, you surrender all control. That’s not something I’ll do willingly. First, there are the introductory pleasantries. 

I’m okay with “how are you?” and “how’s college?”. But once those pleasantries develop into “any boyfriends on the scene?”, “what are you planning on doing with that college degree of yours?” and “how many units of alcohol are you consuming each week?”, I’m looking for an escape route. 

Do you want to know what’s easier than finding a polite way to hang up the phone? Never answering that call in the first place.

You’re probably wondering what happened to make me such a control freak. That, I can’t answer. But I will tell you this: The smartphone makes it very easy for me to control many aspects of my life. 

I’m part of the generation that will look at the menu for a restaurant, and decide what I’ll order 48 hours before I step foot in the place. I get my friends to send me a picture of their outfits before we go out, to make sure we’ve all gone for the same vibe.

I want no surprises. So, why would my conversations be any different?

Sure, if there’s a question that needs to be answered, a phone call can help you achieve that. But in my experience, a text will suffice. 

My parents will tear their hair out over this one: “But what if there’s an emergency?”. 

To that, I respond with another question: “What do you expect me to do over the phone, during a bloody emergency?”. 

If the house is burning down, give 999 a buzz. Not the 20-year-old girl, trying to enjoy her amaretto sour in peace. Jeez. You can, however, text me with an update, when everything’s sorted.

Sometimes, I think I could use a secretary to screen all of my social interactions for me. Life would be so peaceful.

For this reason, I am a massive advocate for texting over calling. There’s so many advantages to the text. I can take as long as I like to respond. Over a phone call, I have to respond instantly. That’s a lot of pressure. 

Texting also gets to the point. No hanging around while we politely dance around the actual topic of conversation.

Admittedly though, a phone call can be nice. On rare occasions, and in small doses. With a close friend or immediate family member. Even at that, a cold call will unsettle me. 

Again, I don’t like being caught off guard. A warning text is only polite, when dealing with Gen Z. We startle easily.

I can feel the disgruntled groaning of the elderly (born pre-1995) reading this. Worried about the future of society if these Gen Z, snowflake, weakling, softies are scared of phone calls.

The future must look pretty bleak. I can see the comments rolling in: “Is this the girl who told us not to use a full stop?” — Their angry, arthritic fingers furiously typing. 

All while googling the rules of proper punctuation use. You may not want to accept what I’m telling you, and that’s okay. But your age is showing — I hate to be the one to tell you.

No amount of Botox will fool us; Gen Z can spot a Millennial a mile away, especially if that Millennial dabbles in cold calling.