A growing number of young people are departing from traditional phone call greetings, often foregoing the longstanding “Hello” in favor of more casual or even silent responses. This shift reflects evolving communication habits among Generation Z, who have grown up with smartphones and caller ID, altering the conventions of phone etiquette.
Twenty-one-year-old Avigail Sharon described answering calls from close friends with a playful “Bello” and speaking in a fictional language inspired by the “Minions” franchise, a practice that her parents do not recognize. Her friend Sophia Perez, 22, reported that she often declines to say anything when answering unknown numbers, a precaution against potential voice scams or spam calls—a concern echoed by Sharon during a recent visit to New York City.
Among younger adults, the standard “Hello” is increasingly reserved for formal or unfamiliar callers. Closer contacts might be met with greetings such as “Hi,” “Yo,” or “What’s up?” In some cases, intimate or even tense exchanges begin simply with a “Yeah?” College students in New York described using personalized greetings that reflect their relationships; one said she often begins with “Where are you?” signaling a preference to meet in person rather than talk on the phone.
Experts attribute this decline of traditional phone greetings to the integration of caller ID and other digital communication tools. Griffin Bassett, a linguistics researcher specializing in digital media, explained that with extensive pre-existing information about the caller—through social media, text messages, and caller ID—there is less need to establish initial common ground verbally. Conversations now often feel like ongoing, asynchronous threads rather than distinct engagements requiring formal openings.
Voice notes and other asynchronous messaging formats also have largely supplanted phone calls among younger demographics. Seventeen-year-olds surveyed in Baltimore and Los Angeles indicated a preference for voice messages over live calls, finding them faster and better suited for sharing longer narratives without misinterpretation of tone. These voice notes are typically sent without formal greetings, often beginning abruptly with “You’re never going to guess this,” or launching straight into the story.
Findings from psychological studies support the observation that younger people are using fewer spoken words and less formulaic politeness in everyday interactions. Valeria Pfeifer, a psychology associate professor, noted that younger individuals are less inclined to use traditional greetings like “How are you?” which comprise multiple words but convey little substantive information.
Social etiquette educators have reported concerns from parents about children’s reluctance to use standard greetings when answering calls. Myka Meier, an etiquette instructor in New York, found that many teenagers avoid greetings due to distrust of unknown callers amid a landscape rife with artificial intelligence-driven scams and phishing attempts.
This trend extends even to children encountering traditional landline phones. Parents across the United States have noticed that their young children, unfamiliar with the conventions of phone conversations, often pick up without saying “Hello” and may wait silently for the caller to speak first. Megan Paris, a mother in Michigan, shared that her children, ages 7 and 9, responded to their first phone calls by immediately talking rather than offering a greeting.
As communication technologies continue to evolve, so too do the norms around how people engage over the phone, with the once-ubiquitous “Hello” increasingly becoming a relic of earlier generations.