How do you answer the phone?

“Hello.” 

As a millennial, this is how I was raised to answer the phone. It’s also what I imagine most people are accustomed to hearing when they make a phone call. So, imagine my surprise when I discovered that there are some Gen Z people out there who answer a phone call and say nothing until the person who called them starts speaking.  

While this goes against everything I know about proper phone etiquette, I have found two main reasons as to why they would choose not to say anything when they answer a phone call. 

The first is that they are afraid of scam calls. They won’t say “hello” to avoid allowing scammers the chance to clone their voice to be used in other scams. I don’t blame people for being wary of scam callers. I myself also do what I can to avoid them, but in my case I just don’t answer the phone if I don’t recognize the number. I mean, if it’s important enough they’ll leave a message, right? 

It’s the second reason I have seen that baffles me. Some Gen Z-ers believe that if you are making a phone call, it is then your responsibility to initiate the conversation, hence why they remain silent. 

Personally I don’t understand the logic there. When I call someone and I don’t hear them say “hello” when they pick up, it’s my assumption that there must be some sort of connection problem. To be fair, I also grew up in a world without cellphones. Households had a landline as their primary means of communication, and saying “hello” when answering said landline was considered proper etiquette. 

I guess it makes sense that as technology changes, the way we interact with technology will also change. This particular change though, I don’t know if I can get behind it. Who wants to call someone only to be greeted by heavy breathing?