You know that feeling. There's a call you need to make - your doctor, your landlord, a potential employer - and you've been putting it off for three days. A text would be so much easier, right?

Turns out, you're far from alone. A study conducted in early 2025 by AXA Insurance Belgium and youth research agency Trendwolves surveyed 600 young Belgians between the ages of 18 and 25. The finding? Nearly half of them - 49% - prefer to send a message rather than pick up the phone, specifically out of anxiety or uncertainty.

The numbers behind the anxiety

The study paints a clear picture of just how much young people go out of their way to avoid calling: • 55% regularly switch their ringtone off • 21% never answer a call at all - not sometimes, not rarely, never • The most common fears: awkward silences, not knowing how to end the conversation, and feeling unsure of themselves These aren't just quirks. They're patterns that get in the way of real, everyday situations - booking a GP appointment, chasing up an internship, or sorting out a rental contract.

Not just a personal feeling - a generational one

The researchers identified three distinct communication profiles among young Belgians. About 53% are all-rounders who are comfortable using multiple channels including phone calls. Another 29% are selective communicators who prefer quieter, more controlled forms of contact. And 18% fall into the phone-anxious group - the ones for whom calling feels genuinely stressful. This last group is most concentrated among 22–25-year-olds.

There's also a regional pattern worth noting: phone anxiety is significantly more prevalent among Dutch-speaking young Belgians than French-speaking ones - making this a particularly relevant topic in Flanders.

So what actually helps?

The research points to one clear factor that separates confident callers from anxious ones: experience. Young people who grew up making more phone calls at home feel far more comfortable doing it later in life. It's not about personality. It's about practice.

That's the whole idea behind Cello - giving you a safe, realistic space to practice before the real call matters.