I don’t make phone calls, even in an emergency. Why you should never ring someone under 40

May 26, 2026 — 11:45am

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There is nothing worse you could do to me than call my mobile. When my phone rings, I feel irritation mingled with fear. Nothing good ever comes from a phone call, and importantly, a phone call does not achieve anything that a text can’t do faster and with less impost.

I’m not alone in my generation in having an aversion to the phone. It’s ironic, as we were the first to have access to mobile phones from a young age. I was 16 when I got my first Nokia, and 21 when I got my first smartphone. Since then, I’ve had a phone within arm’s reach at almost all times, yet I hate answering it.

We have been labelled as antisocial, having “phone anxiety” or just lazy and inefficient. But given surveys have found nearly 60 per cent of Australians aged between 18 and 26 dread making or accepting a phone call, it’s time for older generations to get up to speed with the circumstances in which a phone call is acceptable. (Spoiler alert - there aren’t many.)

In my view, whether it’s at work or at home, there is almost never a need to........

© The Sydney Morning Herald