05 December 2008 Another Gen Y Trend
I realised today I haven’t used my house phone in a while. The thick layer of dust is at least three months old.
If people want to contact me, they do it by mobile, email, social networks, MSN or most recently, Skype.
Not a good sign for telemarketers.
Lee
Posted at December 5, 2008 11:35pm, 05 DecemberWe’re not actually going to be putting the home phone on when we move – we have cable internet and mobiles so the thing would be an absolute waste.
Jimmy
Posted at December 6, 2008 1:45am, 06 DecemberI don’t think it’s just Gen Y. My mum has considered getting rid of the home phone as our family only uses our mobiles now. Last month our house spent only $1.50 on actual calls!
Tannie
Posted at December 6, 2008 9:59am, 06 DecemberI’m the same myself, when I moved out I didn’t bother with a home phone. It’s been two years and I haven’t looked back.
I think overall it’s more of a technology driven natural progression as opposed to a trend. The fact is most people probably spend about $30 a month on their mobiles and that’s basically what a landline costs without making any calls.
Once you add in the fact that with a mobile it is clearly your own device making a little more specisl than a normal phone and add in the ability to do text messages then it becomes a clear winner. The only reason it is appear as only a Gen Y thing is because a lot of people are attached to their landline number and need to keep it active to be contacted.
Miksago
Posted at December 6, 2008 2:01pm, 06 DecemberGee.. What’s your skype mate?
Rick Clarke
Posted at December 7, 2008 10:40am, 07 DecemberDefinitely. I can’t think of anyone I know who’s moved out in the last few years and bothered getting a landline. Why pay $30 for line rental when you could just add $10-20 to your mobile cap and get a lot more value from it?
katherineliew
Posted at December 7, 2008 10:08pm, 07 DecemberActually Australia might be lagging behind in this respect – Europe’s high landline charges mean they all rely on mobiles, and in Asia + developing countries mobiles are more popular because you can control costs.
Possibly the US will be the last to retain theirs as they still have retarded legislation about not being able to transfer your number between carriers.
Kate
Posted at December 8, 2008 10:30pm, 08 DecemberI haven’t used my landline since 2004. Well not literally but basically since mobile phone plans became more affordable than landline ones and the reception improved dramatically. It’s a convenience thing too for me… if I want to make a phone call – I’ll use the nearest thing to me and that is usually my mobile.
Jon
Posted at December 29, 2008 11:31am, 29 DecemberThe only reason I have my landline is so I can get ADSL2+. I dont answer the landline because I don’t give anyone the number so the only people ringing are people who want to sell me something.