Phone Fatigue: Voice Calls on the Decline

Aug. 9, 2010— -- Is this the end of the line for the cherished telephone call?

For decades, it's played a starring role in our lives and pop culture (can you imagine "E.T.", for example, without it?). But according to some, its heyday could be winding down.

In an article in the August issue of Wired magazine, Clive Thompson writes: "We're moving… toward a fascinating cultural transition: the death of the telephone call."

Citing data from media research firm Nielsen, he said the average number of mobile phone calls we make every year is dropping and our calls are getting shorter. In 2005, the average call was three minutes long, now they're not even half of that, he said.

The reason for the phone call's demise?

With the telephone, "we are constantly interrupting one another," he said. "The other tools at our disposal are more polite. Instant messaging lets us detect whether our friends are busy without our bugging them, and texting lets us ping one another asynchronously."

A new generation of communicators is avoiding the telephone because, between texting, instant messaging and social networking, they can constantly keep in touch with lighter, more efficient and less intrusive kinds of technology, he said.

Don Kellogg, senior manager for telecommunication research and insights at the Nielsen Co., said that while it's true that the average number of mobile minutes is on the decline, the trend is really pronounced among young adults in particular.

"Younger adults are driving the aggregate average down, but… anybody 35 or older, in general, is using their phones just about as much as they were before," he said.

Between 2008 and 2010, the average number of voice minutes used by adults 18-24 dropped from about 1200 to 900, he said. Adults 24-34 experienced a slightly less dramatic decline.

But data for adult groups above 35 indicate almost no change in minutes over the past couple of years.

Still, though the research may not reflect it yet, younger adults could be slowly influencing the behavior of older adults.

"Everyone I know uses text messaging, including my parents and grandparents, so I never have any need to call them for the most part," said Amanda Bee, 20, a junior at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. "I try to avoid talking to [my family] on the phone."