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While children and older people tend to prefer calling to texting, teens and young adults prefer to text. But even for those who prefer texting, research suggests that phone calls may better strengthen social bonds. Hearing the voice of someone you know can reduce stress and increase warmth and trust, and you can interpret someone’s feelings, clear up ambiguities, and get an immediate response. Strangers using the “Fast Friends exercise” who asked 36 increasingly personal questions felt closer if they did it over the phone rather than text. Another study found that people believed that a stranger with different political beliefs had greater mental capacity if they heard their voice explaining their views on a contentious issue rather than reading it in print. Some parents who have installed old-fashioned landlines at home and coordinated with other local parents have seen their kids become better listeners and communicators—while avoiding the potential pitfalls of social media exposure that a cell phone can bring.
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