How long until using phones for voice communications is a complete thing of the past?

[BeholdOurButterStinketh]

I know there are now loads of ways of communicating, and that many of them are preferred by a lot of people for the fact that you can read and respond in your own time, rather than having a phone ringing, which is the equivalent of somebody suddenly yelling "Speak to me now! Speak to me now!"

However, it just so happens that most of these methods of communication are accessed on something that we refer to as a 'phone'.

We still have a landline, and the vast majority of calls we get on it are scams. Not even just genuine companies hoping to sell a legitimate product to us as a result of a cold call, but purely scammers. One main reason why we have kept it - my elderly MIL being able to call us - is now pretty much obsolete as even she has recently got the hang of mobiles and WhatsApp; so I think we'll probably junk the 'traditional' phone function soon and just keep the line for broadband. I know a great many people have done this long ago.

That said, it's occurred to me that, even on our mobiles, the majority of calls that come through are also from scammers. This seems to have increased markedly in the last couple of years. Nowadays, if our mobiles ring with an unfamiliar number, we ignore them and leave it to go to voicemail if genuine. I know people will say don't be dramatic, just answer it and tell them you're not interested; but I really cannot be faffed with doing this every time the phone rings - usually at a time when I'm in the middle of something - and also letting them know that the number is a live one that somebody answered at least once for them (and all of their scammy associates) to mark on their lists, so got to be worth trying again and again.

I know there are apps that can reduce the number of junk calls, but it's cat and mouse, as they just keep on spoofing yet another random number that the app hasn't yet caught up with and registered.

How long do people think it's going to be until phones don't routinely come with a voice call option included - or, more likely, until all phone numbers routinely have to be registered and confirmed on your phone white-list for them to even get through? And if that does happen, how can that stop the scammers from spoofing a number in your safe list (whether by hacking or pure luck when they auto-call tens of millions of numbers) and still getting you to answer, thinking it's your mum or friend calling - the way that a lot of scam emails spoof your own email address, as though you'd sent yourself an email, so you obviously can't block your own email address and report it as spam/scam?!

Just getting annoyed that the most basic function of a phone is now so frequently abused by criminals that it's getting pretty much spoiled as a concept - and that my instinct on hearing a phone ring now is a sigh that it will most probably be a scammer, when I can remember the old days when a ringing phone used to herald a wanted, or at least helpful, call!

My phone tells me if it's a probable spam call (dunno how, it's not an app I've added) so I usually don't answer those (sometimes I do, for a laugh) but all other calls I answer, they're usually something medical, school, police sometimes, once it was someone trying to get hold of my brother, or then it's someone I know. Often it's my dad accidentally pocket calling me!
I make calls fairly often too. Actually I have to call a number twice a day to get the gate to open at work when I arrive and leave.

My mobile phone gets used as a phone most of the time. I am one of those people that prefers to speak not message or text. I would rather have a two-way conversation and instant answers. I very, very rarely get scam calls.

We sometimes do use mobiles to communicate within the house because it’s an old rambling place and the alternative would be walkie talkies or a megaphone.

I don’t give out my mobile number willy nilly and if forced to give a contact number by a web form, for example, I give the landline number. That’s what we keep it for. We get zero scam calls on that because it has a call screening facility that only lets through trusted numbers. Everything else is announced. With the odd exception, scammers ring off immediately when they don’t get through to a real person.

I need a phone to talk to my family - DH, DTeens and DM, DD DSiblings, DF.

Family and friends.

DH, DB, me and DSIL all use phones in work quite regularly, DH in particular prefers it but then he also does client dinners etc. Still

I use the phone all the time at work, so I don't think the phone is going anywhere at this point. I also use the phone to call my family and close friends. I'm very comfortable with the phone and I prefer it as a means of communication to video calls. I also text and Whatsapp, but it's not as personal as hearing a loved one's voice and you don't have a proper catch up in a brief text or message. But things have changed so rapidly in the last ten or twenty years, that I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to what life will be like in the next ten or twenty years. A lot of technology has come and gone in my lifetime. We've had the odd issue at work with young staff expressing reluctance about using the phone, but we've been very clear that it's a requirement for the job.

Companies are definitely moving away from the phone and have been for some time. Most companies encourage customers to set up direct debits rather than paying in person or by phone. It's a cost saving exercise - it means they're not paying for staff to man counters or answer phones. When I phone my bank, I have to spend about ten minutes listening to an automated voice saying, "Did you know you can do x, y and z online", or saying, "If your call relates to x, press 1", "If your call relates to y, press 2" etc. Which is all well and good unless your query doesn't fall into one of these categories.

Barely ever receive phone calls from people I actually know , think we almost at the point of phones being obsolete as phones, normally set phone to send unknown number# straight to voicemail, stops the annoyance of scam calls, problem is, on the very odd occasion you are expecting a call from an unknown number, NHS springs to mind, you have to take it offagain.

This is going to turn into a thread where posters try to prove that their way of communicating is better than others', isn't it?

I don’t give out my mobile number willy nilly and if forced to give a contact number by a web form, for example, I give the landline number.

Whilst that's obviously sensible, I'm not even sure that it makes a huge difference nowadays. I think the scammers have software that 'knows' the standard format of phone numbers in their targeted country and just auto-dials every possible permutation, until somebody answers.

That's why, if more people answer than they have scamming operatives available to scam, the line just goes dead.

It seems to make a huge difference to me. I can’t remember the last time I had a scam call on my mobile. Maybe a year ago.

Also, I think I remember reading somewhere that once you do respond to a scam call your number gets tagged for repeat calls.

Voice communication is more popular than ever - it's just shifted away from phones and phone lines.

Teams, zoom, discord etc are all widely used, as is voice chat built in games consoles and many other games.

Phone will still have access to traditional calls for a long time yet mostly for access to emergency services but the general public use will probably decline a lot.

I doubt this.

Texting or WhatsApping in the same house can be very useful when parents are trying to communicate without little ones cottoning on!

I always assumed it was a bit of both: they would auto-dial with a blunderbuss approach, but then also seize on (and pass on to all their friends) any hits where they strike gold with a number that they discover belongs to a gullible/vulnerable person who engages with them.

The phasing out of conventional copper wire means all phones will one day be internet only. We have an internet phone which often cuts out, never had that happen with a conventional landline.
Most areas will soon be on internet only phones, so if the internet goes down that will cause issues for contacting emergency services. I believe people living rurally/with poor mobile signal will be disadvantaged.

Being alarmist, that nice Mr Putin could wreak havoc with our communications systems quite easily - I would love to know if we have any back-ups? Radio? TV? Just a thought.

Different forms of communication have their purpose.
When school phones me about DS's latest malady, a conversation has instant feedback and chance to share information that doesn' happen with text or email that are better suited to general information.

Sometimes texting/ whatapping friends/ family is handy if it's for general chatter, but an actual phone converstation has proper flow for a good catch up. It can also be better on occasions when tone matters.

It's good that there's a range of methods avaliable for different purposes.

I wish DM wasn't such a proud, insufferable luddite because a landline is of limited use for commuicating when your hearing has deteriorated that far. Plus it would have been nice to share pictures of the DCs growing up. Her stubborn refusal to engage with technology has been isolating in her older years. She had the capability 25 years ago, she proudly chose not to engage.

Disagree, think there will be a huge anti-social media backlash in time. Like the teens/young adults who don't drink don't smoke etc. Phones are the biggest waste of time...right just getting myself off here now!