Third of Gen Z now prefer VOICE NOTES to texts:as they are the fastest way to communicate

When you have a good story to tell, sometimes it just doesn’t have the same effect when you type it out.

This may be one of the reasons people are increasingly choosing to record themselves relaying their tale, and sharing it as a voice note.

According to new research, this communication method is most popular with Generation Z, with a third of 18 to 24-year-olds sending them to friends and family.

This is up 10 per cent from three years ago, representing the biggest increase in uptake of all forms of smartphone messaging. 

Voice note popularity has increased most in Birmingham, with 24 per cent of Brummies now claiming to regularly record voice messages.

However, the trend has not taken off among Baby Boomers, as there has only been a 3 per cent increase in voice note usage with 58 to 76-year-olds over the past three years. 

According to new research, voice notes are most popular with Generation Z, with a third of 18 to 24 year olds sending them to friends and family (stock image)

Online smartphone retailer, Mobiles.co.uk, surveyed 1,000 Brits to find out how they like to communicate using their phones, and found voice notes to be a growing trend in recent years.

This is backed up by how Twitter and Instagram have set up their own features that allow users to Tweet or reply to stories vocally.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has optimised its voice reply capabilities by allowing users to pause their note mid-way through if they lose their train of thought, and preview it before it is sent.

Each generation has increased their use of voice notes over the past three years, but they are used decreasingly often by each older age group.

While Generation Z claims to use them 33 per cent of the time, the same goes for only 5 per cent of Boomers.

When asked why they are choosing to record their messages, over half of participants said it is easier than other communication forms.

These included texting, Snapchats, phone calls and FaceTime calls. 

Generation Z also said that they like how quickly a voice note can get their message across, with 6 per cent saying they would use them in an emergency.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Dr Silke Paulmann, a psychology professor at the University of Essex, said:  ‘I think that voice notes can create intimacy in the way that simple texts can’t. 

‘Tone of voice can be used to convey attitudes and emotions of the sender – much better than emoticons can. 

‘So the voice function could provide a useful tool to engage in relationships potentially without the need to meet up and at your convenience.

‘Having said that, it might also be something far more simple, namely the ability to send off a voice note while you’re walking or doing something else in a way that is more difficult for text writing.’

Voice notes are also 10 per cent more popular with males of the youngest generation than females, going against the common stereotype that women talk more than men.

While the short, recorded messages are increasing in popularity in all demographics, residents of certain cities have taken to them more than others.

Almost a quarter of people in Birmingham now use them frequently, as well as 21 per cent of Londoners and 19 per cent of those from Leeds.

People in Leeds are also hopping on the trend, with users of voice notes having increased by 8 per cent over the past three years, according to the survey.

Generation Z also said that they also like how quickly a voice note can get their message across, with 6 per cent saying they would use them in an emergency  (stock image)

When it comes to who you are sending a voice message to, there is another generational difference.

The study revealed that 65 per cent of Generation Z and Millennials are most likely to send voice notes to their friends.

However, the Boomers tend to reserve them for their spouse or partner, with half of those surveyed claiming they are the most likely recipient.

Again, it is men who prefer to communicate with their significant other with voice notes, as only 36 per cent of women do this next to 62 per cent of men.