Millennial/Gen Z border child here… I think we are so used to the silence of texting that a phone call is a major interruption, especially if you’re in a place where your voice might bother someone else (i.e. literally anywhere but at home). I like @maya54 's metaphor of calling on someone–when you get used to a newer and more impersonal form of communication, the more personal form becomes more intimate, so it’s not something you would do. I get a little annoyed when one of my boyfriend’s parents calls without warning; a lot of times it’s when we’re in the middle of something and either we’re now occupied with the phone call instead of what we planned on doing, or we have to say “can we call back later” and then possibly interrupt them while they are doing something. In contrast, my parents usually text “can you talk now?” before calling me.
I let calls go to voicemail if I’m not in the position to answer. Both Ds keep their phones on vibrate, so maybe that’s why they don’t mind phone calls. No startling noise to interrupt work or school or other things.
While individuals of course vary I think the point is that many many younger people (Millennials and Gen Z) view a phone call without pre-agreement as rude and something you should only do in an emergency. This is a vast change from prior generations many of whom can’t even discern WHY it is rude to phone out of the blue.
I was at a funeral today. The funeral director ask d people to turn off their phones. Even so, 3 calls come thru loudly. At least one woman was older, and didn’t know how to turn it off
^^^So annoying. That has happened at every funeral I have attended recently.