Snapchat. Instagram. Facebook. Twitter. Uber. Venmo. Seamless. Spotify. Tinder.

Millennials love the phone. They love to text. They love to post. They love to swipe.  They love to email. But they hate answering the phone.

I challenge you to call anyone born between 1981 to 1995 and see if they pick up. I bet you a Mocha Frappuccino that you’ll get a voicemail that says, “Hey this is X. If you need to get ahold of me, send me a text.”

“A generation of e-mailing, followed by an explosion in texting, has pushed the telephone conversation into serious decline, creating new tensions between baby boomers and millennials -- those in their teens, 20s and early 30s.” (Washington Post)

I get it. Millennials didn’t spend hours on the phone talking to friends like we did as kids. Instead, they were raised with Smartphones where they communicated electronically through apps. And it is certainly convenient, easy, and playful, but it doesn’t come without a cost.

1. Texts and email are often vague, so they leave room for assumptions.

2. Texts and emails lack important non-verbal communication.

3. Men and women have different expectations and values around texting.

4. Electronic communication creates a false sense of power.

5. It’s easy to lie in texts and emails.

6. Conversations can drag on. 

So here’s some advice for millennials out there: start talking on the phone. If you want to connect and advance in your career, you’re gonna need to use that dusty call button on your Iphone.  On another note, “yaaas,” your family might want to hear about you “crushin’ it” or your “bae.”