Has the bell tolled for telephone conversations? I certainly hope so
When did you last receive a phone call from someone you actually wanted to speak to? I can’t remember when a friend last rang “for a chat”. As a consequence, my voicemail is full of messages, not from old acquaintances but from scammers and annoying utility companies begging me to switch to a smart meter – when will they get the message?
As we march ever deeper into the digital age where even texts and emails will be supplanted by some new form of AI communication, I for one will be glad to see the back of the old “dog and bone”. This March 10 marks 150 years since Graham Bell made the first successful, intelligible call, famously telling his assistant: “Mr Watson, come here – I want to see you.”
Ironic then that at a time when phones have never been more ubiquitous we are using them less and less; even when we do make the occasional call, few of us hold the actual device to our ear, preferring to communicate via an earpiece to avoid the risk of contracting a brain tumour! But phone-related cancer isn’t our only concern.
A recent study by Trinity College London of more than 1,500 people aged between 16 and 29 found that 30% of them feel anxious using the blower – a condition known as “telephobia”. Imagine if these poor souls still had to rely on landlines where the recipient has no idea who is on the other end until they pick up.
These days, of course, mobiles are chiefly used for text messaging and scrolling. Like many heavy users, my aching neck and shoulders are testament to the inordinate amount of time spent hunched over my screen, head bowed, fingers tapping furiously. It’s an addiction seemingly without a cure as millions of us are now discovering to our detriment.
Since abandoning my trusty old landline a few years back, I’ve become even less inclined to speak on the phone unless absolutely necessary. If I don’t recognise a number, I simply ignore it, assuming the worst. That said, my device is usually on silent mode, thereby removing any sense of guilt about not picking up.
Up until his death earlier this year, the only person I knew who still relied on a landline was my 96-year-old father. Like many older people he found mobiles baffling and much preferred the familiarity of physical buttons and a chunky receiver. Meanwhile his abandoned smartphone remained permanently out of reach, hidden under a pile of magazines.
As with most individuals born before the war, my father was a trusting soul; unfortunately this made him a prime target for scammers. Being housebound meant he relied on his landline for almost everything including vital hospital appointments. The phone socket even connected his panic button to emergency services.
Sadly, towards the end of his life my father became increasingly wary about answering his landline due to the sheer number of criminals trying to rip him off. Thankfully he never fell for their inevitable demands to hand over bank details. As someone who enjoyed a lark he would sometimes engage with scammers, explaining that he was a member of the Royal Family and would be asking His Majesty’s government to investigate the call.
On other occasions, he would pretend to go along with the scam, eventually yelling “bugger off” when the time came to divulge his current account details. Sadly, until phone companies come up with an effective way to block this insidious criminality, scammers will continue to target the most vulnerable. It seems unlikely, however, that companies will invest in a dying technology used almost exclusively by the elderly and infirm.
My own aversion to calls is mostly down to privacy. I used to be excited when the phone rang, but these days I find the shrill ring tone not only annoying but deeply impertinent. Imagine if some random person broke into your home and demanded your full attention. You’d probably call the police. I find phone calls equally intrusive.
No wonder I go into a state of high alert whenever my phone explodes into life. Like all those other telephobia snowflakes, I yearn to be left in peace. Texting and email offer concise, commitment-free communication, so why endure long-winded phone conversations weighed down with boring small talk – another cause of anxiety, according to 38% of young people. Unless something requires an actual conversation, just send me a message and I might even reply.
