Photograph of red phone (Sputnik)

Telephobia is the fear of telephone conversations, and it is a surprisingly common social anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder is even more common among millennials, according to a 2019 UK survey, which found that 76% of millennials and 40% of baby boomers felt anxious when their phones rang.

Despite the fact that the majority of millennials are too anxious to make phone calls—one study found that 81% of millennials experience apprehension anxiety before making a phone call—calling someone you care about and having a meaningful conversation on the phone can help one feel less lonely and reconnect with others.

According to the findings of the study, anxiety and depression are on the rise among young adults, who experienced the negative effects of loneliness more than any other age group during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between October 2020 and February 2021, meaning during the pandemic and its restrictions, a study found that areas with a higher concentration of people aged 16 to 24 had higher rates of loneliness. And, while remote learning was able to be implemented in some environments when schools were closed, and some young people still had technology like computers and cell phones as readily available tools to reconnect with their loved ones, not all forms of media communication improved one's mental health in the same way.

Even before the pandemic, 40% of 16 to 24-year-olds reported feeling lonely, according to a 2018 BBC study. However, certain types of phone communication can help to alleviate loneliness.

According to one study, media interactions that include a person's voice, such as video chat, phone calls, or voice clips, can create a stronger social bond than texting or emailing. The study also discovered that voice communications were no more unpleasant than text communications.

Since text-based conversations do not allow people to ask or answer questions in real-time, they can cause confusion and misunderstandings. Text-based communication can also make it more difficult for people to convey the tone of their messages.

However, in order for a person to increase their mental health and reduce feelings of loneliness the phone call should be with a person one has a meaningful relationship with, whether it be a friend, partner, or family member.

According to John Cacioppo, a social neuroscientist, those who are lonely seek meaningful connections with others, so a short, detached phone call will not help alleviate those feelings of loneliness as much as an engaging or intimate phone call will.