Phone Calls Are Back in Fashion

Data shows that people all over the U.S. are doing the same thing. Verizon says it has seen an average of 800 million wireless calls daily on recent weekdays, nearly twice the volume of Mother's Day. From a report: And we're not just calling people more often, we're talking on the phone for longer: AT&T says that wireless voice minutes on Monday were up 39% from the average Monday, and Wi-Fi calling minutes were 78% higher. Thanks to coronavirus, we're no longer in transit, unable to answer a call. We're not physically in the office so, sure, why not jump on the phone to catch up with a friend or colleague between work tasks? There's no stepping out for lunch, no "Let's just cover this in person next time we see one another," because we don't actually know when that will be.

Pretty much the only reason you can't reach someone these days is because they're on another call. We're also feeling more isolated and increasingly concerned about the people we love. We want to check in with them more regularly. Texts can be cold and quick; a call is really one of the few ways others can hear the concern in your voice -- and you can hear the concern in theirs. And if you haven't yet changed out of your pajamas or washed your hair in a few days, phone calls beat video chats hands down.

Haven't washed your hairs in a few days?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude I haven't taken a shower in two weeks! Beat THAT! Oh wait, this is slashdot...

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[BeerFartMoron]

All that money wasted on pants.

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[Applehu Akbar]

Dude I haven't taken a shower in two weeks! Beat THAT! Oh wait, this is slashdot...

Before you join the next virtual family meetup, be sure to uncheck the "Ambient Odors" box in Zoom.

Never turn on your video during meetings.

[frank_adrian314159]

All it does is waste bandwidth. Besides, no one wants to see your ugly mug.

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[Graymalkin]

Hey!

Wait, no, you're right.

not me!

[bobmagicii]

i stopped answering incoming calls a long time ago and have no intent to do so again. co-worker of mine gets so many calls a day, answers them all, and recently they have been coming in languages we don't even speak. the few times i have to place an outgoing call, like my yearly "threaten to quit my isp so they give me the new customer deal" song and dance, their phone system goes "press 1 to have us call you back" im like "nope cuz i aint picking up we gon wait!" XD

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

do study.citizen();

[U8MyData]

I have been watching all of the chatter about how we are doing things differently like talking on the phone, higher internet bandwidth utilization, managing social distancing, etc. I just feel like we are being studied for something else. I don't know why but I do. Never have we been, in my lifetime of course (50+), this close to Marshall Law than we are now. State governors to mandate shelter in place, stay home, making travel illegal for "non-essentials" (I am actually one of them) and the like. My i

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[Mononymous]

And, I still would like an explanation about the run on TP.

Runs aren't rational. And it fed itself. Once people heard everyone was getting all the toilet paper, they had to make sure they got some.

Phone call?

[LynnwoodRooster]

Is there an app for that?

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[ffkom]

Not really. Back in the 1990's people were impressed with the crystal clear sound those newfangled digital phones provided, even when calling long distance. After many years of quality deterioration, we are now back at the voice quality of the late 1970's, albeit with more annoying kinds of drop-outs instead of mere noise. Glorious times when phones were actually judged by the quality of transmission they could provide!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

A good way to get coronavirus

[dicobalt]

Phones are filthy, and their surfaces (plastic and glass) both harbor coronavirus longer than other surfaces.

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[Cmdln Daco]

I am the only one who ever picks up and uses my phone. And I mean the phone on my desk at work.

Work from Home...

[JasterBobaMereel]

Perhaps it is more likely all those business calls are now being made from home ...

Because...

[groobly]

I'm pretty sure that increase is just from my wife's calls alone.