Newslanes Media18 – 24 year olds are the only age group who regularly use a landline according to new research
The majority of 18-24-year-olds (39%) were the only age group to use a landline 1-4 times a week compared to most 25 – 34-year-olds (30%) who reportedly don’t even own a landline.
Recent research conducted by CallCare, a leading expert in contact centres and customer service, looked into the evolution of communication to see what are some of Brits favourite methods of contacting each other.
It has been 50 years since the first hand-held mobile phone was showcased by Martin Cooper of Motorola in New York City. This production of mobile phones helped to start the catalyst towards further production of mobile phones and text messaging which was developed in 1992.
The world of communication has evolved dramatically since the time of writing letters or telegraphs to the modern ways of sending emails and messaging people through social media.
Even our dictionary has evolved and moved with the times by incorporating slang terms and phrases that Gen Z have brought into the world such as ‘Bae’, ‘Hangry’ and ‘Adorbs’. Some of these slang phrases are part of over 700 words that have been added to the Oxford Dictionary.
With communication evolving every day, it poses the question of whether Brits still carry out old-school methods of staying in touch with each other.
Does The UK Still Write Letters To One Another?
Even in a world of social media and text messaging, the survey found that letters were the main form of communication with the majority of people (45%) saying they wrote a letter to someone more than a year ago.
Surprisingly, the youngest age bracket in the survey, 18-24-year-olds, were the only ones who responded by saying they wrote a letter a few months ago (41%). This contrasts with 83% of this age group who prefer communicating through their smartphones. Only 9% of respondents across the survey have answered by saying they have never written a letter to someone before.
Which Method Of Communication Do Brits Prefer?
Out of the 1000 people surveyed, most of the respondents (35%) chose the social media channel Whatsapp as their preferred method of communication. However, most male respondents (38%) chose phone calls as their preferred method of communication.
This coincides with 31% of 25 – 34-year-old men who were the only age group who answered by saying they would be frustrated if they no longer had the ability to make calls. Whereas 34% of women aged 18-24 were also the only age bracket out of females who would be frustrated by not being able to have a phone call. CallCare’s data has suggested that picking up the phone and speaking to each other is the preferable method amongst the younger generation over social media. As 18-24-year-olds gave the answer that phoning people is quicker than messaging.
The results illustrated that ages 25-54 (39%) preferred Whatsapp as their primary choice of communication, showing a traditional phone call can go a long way for those under 25.
Could traditional forms of communication be more popular with the younger generation than using the latest social media channels?
Is Social Media Taking Over In Communication?
With so many platforms to message people on, it can be hard to keep up with all the different ways to communicate.
Results from Statista showed internet users would spend 144 minutes a day on social media and messaging apps. The number of social media users is expected to rise from 4.26 billion in 2021 to 6 billion by 2027 (5).
CallCare found 38% of 18-24 year-olds chose Snapchat as their favourite channel to communicate through.
Whereas, just over half of those surveyed (51%) who are 25 – over 54s chose Whatsapp as their favourite social media channel to use.
They found that although there are still some younger people who choose older forms of communication, such as occasionally writing letters or phone calls, their results indicate that over time social media will take over as the most superior form of communication overall, making phone calls a thing of the past.