Mom Forces 22-Year-Old Son To Finally Start Making His Own Doctor Appointments And He Still Needs Help
Nothing induces anxiety in Gen Zs quite like a phone call.
Luis Molinero | Shutterstock If you’re a part of Gen Z, you’re likely familiar with just how anxiety-inducing making a simple phone call can be. So much of our communication is virtual; we often forget how to use our voices to schedule appointments and hide our nervous stammers.
Still, it is a part of daily life we must do whether or not we like it. Unless our parents are willing to step in and make all of our appointments for us.
One mom, who has been making her son’s appointments for 22 years, decided that she had had enough and that it was finally time for him to do it on his own — with her hovering nearby to jump in in case he needed any help, of course!
A 22-year-old man still needs help when it comes to making his own doctor’s appointments.
Spencer Nolan shared the hilarious results of his mom forcing him to call the doctor's office to schedule his annual optometry appointment.
With his mother standing behind him for moral support, Nolan claimed that this call should be a breeze, as it was the third time he’d tried, and the third time was a charm!
The call appeared to start off well, with the receptionist answering and Nolan, with a little coaching, telling her that he needed to schedule a yearly exam (however, he referred to it as a “pick-up” exam).
When she asked if he had seen them before, he told her that he had, but not before turning around to check with his mother that he had, in fact, been there.
He picked up some steam with basic questions about his date of birth and insurance (with just a little help from his mom!), but once the receptionist asked him if he was diabetic, his mind seemed to go blank.
Nolan froze before turning around to confirm with his mother that he was, in fact, not diabetic — a piece of medical information a 22-year-old should definitely know.
Pixel-Shot | Shutterstock
When the receptionist offered him an appointment on the 24th at 10:15, he hilariously confirmed that it was in the morning rather than at night because you never know when your optometrist will have an opening at 10:15 at night!
Once it was all taken care of and he hung up, the man celebrated by high-fiving his very proud mama.
While most people got a kick out of the man’s efforts to make a simple phone call, a lot of Gen Zers can relate all too well.
According to research, Gen Zs are developing a fear of answering and making phone calls. The study out of Australia found that at least 90% of Gen Zers are anxious about speaking on the phone and claim that an awkward phone call is one of the top three things they want to avoid in life.
This is because Gen Z is heavily reliant on texting to communicate with one another and is hardly familiar with proper phone etiquette.
Most appointments can be booked online, but that doesn't mean it isn't an important skill to have and kudos to Nolan's mom for teaching him. Unfortunately, booking his dental appointment didn't go quite as smoothly as the eye doctor appointment, but practice makes perfect.
If you struggle with phone call anxiety, there are tricks to make the experience easier.
Mary Jane Copps, dubbed “The Phone Lady,” offered some helpful tips for anxious Gen Zers who need to improve their phone communication skills.
"It turns out that taking on the phone is a skill and, for decades, we didn't recognize that because we all did it," Copps, who has counseled over 15,000 workers on phone skills, told CBS News.
DimaBerlin | Shutterstock
She advises people who have phone anxiety to cut out pictures of people smiling while talking on the phone in magazines and hang them up on their walls to reassure them that talking on the phone is not nearly as scary as they anticipate it will be.
Even though it can be intimidating to start making your own appointments and communicate with strangers on the phone, just remember that the person on the other end of the line is just as human as you are.
They are not going to judge you for stammering your name or if you are struggling to answer a few questions.
If anything, the pressure is on them to record your personal information correctly and schedule your appointment. They’re likely a lot more nervous than you are!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.