If there has been one single inexorable trend in the telecommunications industry over the past 30 years, it has been the decline of the household landline phone connection. While Figure 1 illustrates the case for the United States, the phenomenon is worldwide. The humble landline phone, with its single function (or application) tethered to a single fixed location has given way to the smartphone. The smartphone is a “Swiss army knife” with apps for every function of one’s life, from paying bills and taking photos of the cat to providing the gateway to a veritable virtual (both literally and figuratively) online living experience anywhere, anytime, anyplace. And as an added bonus, each smart phone comes with a “free” voice telephony feature bundled in.
So is the landline really a relic of the past, fit only for display in quaint museum exhibits of household life in the mid to late 20th century, alongside the black-and-while television sets and ancient videotape recorders? One might be forgiven for thinking so, given that US landline purchase is dominated by the 50.5 percent of citizens aged over 65 that still have a landline phone in their home. The age demographic might also explain why the Northeast—and New York in particular—is the landline capita of the USA. In New York, 52.4 percent of adults in all age groups report living in homes with a landline, while nationwide, seven out of 10 adults report being wireless-only phone users. Somewhat surprisingly, the less densely populated rural heartland—including Idaho, Oklahoma, Wyoming and New Mexico—where arguably mobile coverage may be less extensive is definitely “landline-averse.” In these states, nearly 80 percent of adults report living in “wireless-only” households.
But instead of consigning the landline to obsolescence, it is enjoying a rather unexpected revival amongst a surprising demographic—teenage girls (and their parents). And for precisely all the features that a landline does not have—notably, internet access and all the perceived harms that are ascribed to smartphone ownership and usage. While Jonathan Haidt suggested providing under-16s with a flip-phone to save them from internet perils, a growing number of parents in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore are “bringing our communication and our content out of the bedrooms, out of the bathrooms, and into the shared living space” by reinstalling landlines.
Conceivably, these parents may be drawn in by nostalgic memories of their own teenage years: when “you sat in a swivel chair or beanbag with your feet in the air twirling your phone cord while talking to your best friend. Or breathing into the phone with someone on the other side while watching a TV show together. No talking, just watching.” The “nostalgia vibe” has certainly caught on with some Gen-Z folk out to recreate the “cute and romantic” aura of Sex and the City.
Yet the caring parents have received support from psychologists and educators for their choice as it fosters the development of a fast-disappearing social skill of actually being able to talk on a telephone (or in any social situation) at all. According to one psychologist, “phone conversation fosters skills that trading emojis just can’t. Empathy, being able to talk in real time, being able to regulate, being able to pick up on whether someone wants you to talk more or pull back… They’re really critical skills that we’re actually seeing young adults missing.”
Indeed, Australian telecommunications company Telstra chose to celebrate National Landline Telephone Day (March 10) by promoting their range of landline phones and service packages alongside a list of benefits for both young and old. Alongside promoting communications skills, they note the role of landlines in emergency preparedness and the fostering of family communication between children and their older relatives who may not be comfortable using or even connected to a mobile phone. In a lighter vein, they highlighted the shrill ring of the landline in encouraging physical activity, with the sprinting race as the family members all raced to be the one to answer. Other “benefits” include the lottery excitement of not knowing until you picked up whether it was “Grandma, Dad’s boss or a telemarketer asking if your parents were home.” Yet even this has an educational purpose. With “no caller ID safety net, just pure suspense” kids build “confidence, social skills, and the ability to quickly decide between saying hello or just hanging up out of sheer panic.”
So are landlines going to make a comeback as empowered parents swap it for the smartphone their child so desperately wants? Gen-Z influencer Sunny’s friends consider her $30 Hello Kitty landline a toy—selling toys should hardly be a challenge for telco marketers.
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