tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/phone-25528/articlesPhone – The Conversation2023-04-12T16:36:28Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2022152023-04-12T16:36:28Z2023-04-12T16:36:28ZSeven tips for a healthier relationship with your phone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520282/original/file-20230411-18-utjsyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=68%2C45%2C5006%2C3413&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No phones in the bedroom.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/multiracial-couple-surfing-mobile-phones-lying-in-bed-with-dog-after-awakening-4545196/">pexels ketut subiyanto</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How long do you spend staring at a screen every day? According to <a href="https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-global-overview-report">one report</a>, the average person spends about seven hours a day on screens connected to the internet. And that figure is going to be even higher if your job is mainly done in front of a computer. </p>
<p>Most of us <a href="https://www.dovepress.com/problematic-smartphone-use-and-social-media-fatigue-the-mediating-role-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM">over-use digital devices</a>, spending too long either working or enjoying being distracted on phones, tablets, laptops or even VR headsets. We are <a href="https://time.com/5139859/smartphone-addiction-solutions/">accused of being addicted</a> to tech and warned of the dangers to our physical and mental health. </p>
<p>One significant paradox here is that we often retreat into the digital world <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2014.0317">to escape the stresses</a> of the physical world, but can end up simply collecting other kinds of digital and physical stress along the way.</p>
<p>As a parent, I became concerned a few years ago about the effect my <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/%7Egentzkow/research/DigitalAddiction.pdf">digital life</a> was having on my work and family. I did some research of my own, changed the way I used my devices and even wrote a book about the dangers of what I call the “<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Inferno-Technology-Consciously-Hyperconnected/dp/1905570740">digital inferno</a>”. </p>
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<img alt="Group of friends, wearing pink, looking at a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519583/original/file-20230405-23-6hco88.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Break free from screen time addiction: seven tips for a healthier lifestyle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/friends-in-pink-clothes-5325597/">pexels/anna shvets</a></span>
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<p>It’s only in recent years that longer-term studies <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4267764/">have been published</a> on the issue. And taken together, these studies comprise a growing and significant body of knowledge, that is hard to dismiss or ignore: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15213269.2015.1121832">too much tech</a> can cause issues for us humans.</p>
<p>To be clear, digital devices offer <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-tj/Fulltext/2017/09010/The_Ubiquity_of_the_Screen__An_Overview_of_the.1.aspx">significant benefits</a> – think connection, education, entertainment. The <a href="https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-020-00508-z">danger</a> is when our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-021-00463-6">overuse of them becomes toxic to our health</a>. </p>
<p>From a personal perspective, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016164202200361X">eye strain</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00586-020-06640-z">neck ache</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079219300267">poor sleep</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215303162">stress</a>, <a href="https://jmpas.com/admin/assets/article_issue/1638816270JMPAS_MAY-JUNE_2021.pdf">repetitive strain injuries</a> of <a href="https://www.toi-health.com/physician-articles/effects-smartphones-fingers-hands-elbows/">all kinds</a> and <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wzCwEAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA95&dq=info%3Afb7N0N2UD8sJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F&lr&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false">impaired hand function</a> are just a few of symptoms I’ve had over the years thanks to my overuse of screens and devices – and research shows I’m far from alone.</p>
<p>If any of these symptoms describe you (or anyone you know), or you just feel too much of your life is taken up with staring at a screen, then you might find my advice on how to regain control of your tech helpful.</p>
<h2>How to regain control</h2>
<p><strong>1. Practice putting down your digital devices consciously</strong></p>
<p>Keep them out of sight and put them away when you aren’t using them, <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/08/research-shows-how-anxiety-and-technology-are-affecting-our-sleep">especially at night</a>. Banish them from the bedroom, get an alarm clock (so you aren’t using your phone alarm) and you’ll <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-study-on-smartphone-addiction-and-sleep/">sleep better</a> without the late-night scrolling. And get out of the habit of watching TV with your phone next to you. Just focus on one task at a time without the distraction of another screen.</p>
<p><strong>2. Set yourself screen time limits</strong></p>
<p>Too much screen time can give you <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12802-9">headaches</a>. Be mindful of the way your use your tech and make use of features like voice notes, which allow you to stay up-to-date with communication without staring at a screen for a long time.</p>
<p><strong>3. Stop allowing digital distractions</strong> </p>
<p>Constant interruption can <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1357054.1357072">induce physical and mental stress</a>. Turn off notifications and alerts when you want to fully focus on a task. And keep your phone off your desk. <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462">Research shows</a> that having your phone nearby, even if it’s not buzzing or ringing and even if the power is off, can hurt your performance.</p>
<p><strong>4. Schedule proper digital-free time</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-04419-8">Depression and anxiety</a> is one result of digital overload. So getting away from your digital world for a while is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-022-00015-6">important</a>. Take a walk in nature, read a book, go for a bike ride – anything that takes you away from the screens for a while. </p>
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<img alt="Woman sitting reading book, with laptop and phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519585/original/file-20230405-26-kbznoz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Maybe just read the book?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-sitting-on-bean-bag-white-using-macbook-in-front-of-round-table-with-green-leafed-plant-169915/">pexels/tranmautritam</a></span>
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<p><strong>5. Make screens easier on the eyes</strong></p>
<p>Screen overuse can strain our <a href="https://www.jmir.org/2020/12/e21923/">eyes and affect our eyesight</a>. Don’t squint at tiny screens to do work that would be better done on a larger-screen laptop. Reduce the blue light on devices and make use of all the other helpful accessibility features. Start with that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X04003536">screen glare</a>. And also make sure the volume doesn’t <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23312165211015881">burst your ear drums</a>.</p>
<p><strong>6. Take control of the chaos of information overload</strong></p>
<p>Organise your phone, computer and tablet so you can use them more efficiently. Some apps really do help you take charge of your life and <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781547400546/html">work more calmly and effectively</a>. <a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/news/a27948/phone-time-wasting/">Time-tracking apps</a> measure how much time you’re spending (wasting) on your screen – prepare to be horrified! We regain mastery over our digital devices when we become more proactive in their use.</p>
<p><strong>7. Sit well when you are digitally engaged</strong> </p>
<p>Slouching over a phone or hunching over your laptop will harm your <a href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/202215/edit">neck</a> and your back. Sit upright, stretch regularly and exercise often – <a href="https://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Fulltext/2021/04010/Changes_in_Low_Back_Muscle_Activity_and_Spine.5.aspx?context=FeaturedArticles&collectionId=2">without your phone</a>.</p>
<h2>Be a digital decider</h2>
<p>These seven tips should help you regain a sense of control over your digital life. For me, it’s all about sleeping and waking better after leaving my phone downstairs. It’s about having dedicated, planned digital time and specific times when the phone has no place in what I’m doing. </p>
<p>Yet it’s also about enjoying these tech miracles in a more satisfying way and using them more consciously. I like to think of myself now as a digital decider and not just another digital casualty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Levy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Screen time overload? Here’s how to regain control and boost your health.Paul Levy, Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Innovation and Digital Leadership, University of BrightonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1719322022-06-16T12:24:29Z2022-06-16T12:24:29ZWhen texts suddenly stop: Why people ghost on social media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457764/original/file-20220412-14-7bq4mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5607%2C3732&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research suggests that many people prefer ghosting rather than open and honest conversations that might lead to conflict and stress.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-with-hands-pressed-up-against-glass-behind-royalty-free-image/1015921616?adppopup=true">Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Check your phone. Are there any unanswered texts, snaps or direct messages that you’re ignoring? Should you reply? Or should you ghost the person who sent them? </p>
<p>Ghosting happens when someone cuts off all online communication with someone else, and without an explanation. Instead, like a ghost, they just vanish. The phenomenon is common on social media and dating sites, but with the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic – forcing more people together online – <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/haunted-the-trend-toward-ghosting/">it happens now more than ever</a>. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://www.wesleyan.edu/academics/faculty/rtdubar/profile.html">professor of psychology</a> who studies the role of technology use in interpersonal relationships and well-being. Given the negative psychological consequences of thwarted relationships – especially during <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696816658585">the emerging adulthood years</a>, ages 18 to 29 – I wanted to understand what leads college students to ghost others, and if ghosting has any impact on mental health. </p>
<p>To address these questions, my research team <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000343">recruited 76 college students</a> through social media and on-campus flyers. The sample is 70% female. Study participants signed up for one of 20 focus groups, ranging in size from two to five students. Group sessions lasted an average of 48 minutes each. Participants provided responses to questions asking them to reflect on their ghosting experiences. Here’s what we found. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Millions have been ghosted by romantic partners, friends or potential employers.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The results</h2>
<p>Some students admitted they ghosted because they lacked the necessary communication skills to have an open and honest conversation – whether that conversation happened face to face or via text or email.</p>
<p>From a 19-year-old female: “I’m not good at communicating with people in person, so I definitely cannot do it through typing or anything like that.” </p>
<p>From a 22-year old: “I do not have the confidence to tell them that. Or I guess it could be because of social anxiety.”</p>
<p>In some instances, participants opted to ghost if they thought that meeting with the person would stir up emotional or sexual feelings they were not ready to pursue: “People are afraid of something becoming too much … the fact that the relationship is somehow getting to the next level.” </p>
<p>Some ghosted because of safety concerns. Forty-five percent ghosted to remove themselves from a “toxic,” “unpleasant” or “unhealthy” situation. A 19-year-old female put it this way: “It’s very easy to just chat with total strangers so [ghosting is] like a form of protection when a creepy guy is asking you to send nudes and stuff like that.”</p>
<p>One of the least-reported yet perhaps most interesting reasons for ghosting someone: protecting that person’s feelings. Better to ghost, the thinking goes, than cause the hurt feelings that come with overt rejection. An 18-year-old female said ghosting was “a little bit politer way to reject someone than to directly say, ‘I do not want to chat with you.’” </p>
<p>That said, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/08/PSDT_08.20.20.dating-relationships.full_.report.pdf">recent data suggests</a> that U.S. adults generally perceive breaking up through email, text or social media as unacceptable, and prefer a person-to-person conversation. </p>
<p>And then there’s ghosting after sex. </p>
<p>In the context of hookup culture, there’s an understanding that if the ghoster got what they were looking for – often, that’s sex – then that’s it, they no longer need to talk to that person. After all, more talk could be interpreted as wanting something more emotionally intimate. </p>
<p>According to one 19-year-old female: “I think it’s rare for there to be open conversation about how you’re truly feeling [about] what you want out of a situation. … I think hookup culture is really toxic in fostering honest communication.”</p>
<p>But the most prevalent reason to ghost: a lack of interest in pursuing a relationship with that person. Remember the movie “He’s Just Not That Into You”? As one participant said: “Sometimes the conversation just gets boring.”</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Breaking up is hard to do.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The consequences</h2>
<p>Attending college represents <a href="https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2014.75.580">a critical turning point</a> for establishing and maintaining relationships beyond one’s family and hometown neighborhood. For some emerging adults, romantic breakups, emotional loneliness, social exclusion and isolation can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17031116">potentially devastating psychological implications</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000343">Our research supports</a> the idea that ghosting can have negative consequences for mental health. Short term, many of those ghosted felt overwhelming rejection and confusion. They reported feelings of low self-worth and self-esteem. Part of the problem is the lack of clarity – not knowing why communication abruptly stopped. Sometimes, an element of paranoia ensues as the ghostee tries to make sense of the situation. </p>
<p>Long term, our study found many of those ghosted reported feelings of mistrust that developed over time. Some bring this mistrust to future relationships. With that may come internalizing the rejection, self-blame and the potential to sabotage those relationships. </p>
<p>However, just over half the participants in our study said being ghosted offered opportunities for reflection and resilience. </p>
<p>“It can be partly positive for the ghostee because they can realize some of the shortcomings they have, and they may change it,” said an 18-year-old female. </p>
<p>As for the ghoster, there were a range of psychological consequences. About half in the focus groups who ghosted experienced feelings of remorse or guilt; the rest felt no emotion at all. This finding is not entirely surprising, given that individuals who initiate breakups <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.230">generally report less distress</a> than the recipients. </p>
<p>Also emerging from our discussions: The feeling that ghosters may become stunted in their personal growth. From a 20-year-old male: “It can [become] a habit. And it becomes part of your behavior and that’s how you think you should end a relationship with someone. … I feel like a lot of people are serial ghosters, like that’s the only way they know how to deal with people.”</p>
<p>Reasons for ghosting out of fear of intimacy represent an especially intriguing avenue for future research. Until that work is done, universities could help by <a href="https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/confidence-college-classroom/">providing more opportunities</a> for students to boost confidence and sharpen their communication skills. </p>
<p>This includes more courses that cover these challenges. I am reminded of <a href="https://www.trentu.ca/psychology/programs/undergraduate/undergraduate-course-listing">a psychology class</a> I took as an undergraduate at Trent University that introduced me to the work of social psychologist <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eI8Fqo4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Daniel Perlman</a>, who taught courses about loneliness and intimate relationships. Outside the classroom, college residential life coordinators could design seminars and workshops that teach students practical skills on resolving relationship conflicts. </p>
<p>In the meantime, students can subscribe to a number of <a href="https://www.gottman.com/blog/category/dating-premarital/">relationship blogs</a> that offer readers research-based answers. Just know that help is out there – even after a ghosting, you’re not alone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Royette T. Dubar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With online use ever-increasing, so is the rise of ghosting – when friends decide to disappear into the social ether.Royette T. Dubar, Professor of Psychology, Wesleyan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1789742022-03-28T12:37:04Z2022-03-28T12:37:04ZWhat’s the 411 on the new 988 hotline? 5 questions answered about a national mental health service<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/453115/original/file-20220318-17-4p79jz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C8660%2C5717&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The 988 Lifeline will connect callers with specialists trained to assist with mental health crises, including psychotic symptoms and substance abuse. </span> </figcaption></figure><p><em>Beginning July 16, 2022, people struggling with mental health crises can now call 988, a new number focused on providing lifesaving suicide prevention and crisis services. But 988 is not just a shorter, easier-to-remember replacement for the current suicide hotline. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission also established the <a href="https://www.vibrant.org/988/?_ga=2.65114478.1173073332.1648067454-1183345611.1648067454">988 Lifeline</a> to address longstanding concerns in mental health care.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked Derek Lee, a PhD student at The Ohio State University in Counselor Education and Supervision and a therapist, to explain the new service and how it is different from the old hotline. Lee’s academic and research focus is on suicide, including training, intervention and prevention.</em></p>
<h2>What is 988?</h2>
<p>The three-digit number is part of a new national mental health program. In 2020, the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/16/2020-16908/implementation-of-the-national-suicide-hotline-improvement-act-of-2018">designated 988</a> as the help line number, and Congress authorized funding <a href="http://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=title:42%20section:290bb-36c%20edition:prelim">for the 988 Lifeline Program</a>.</p>
<h2>Can people still call 1-800-273-TALK?</h2>
<p>Sure. The soon-to-be old number has been <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Official_Gazette_of_the_United_States_Pa/LFQbAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=1800273TALK">operational since 2005</a>, but it will not be going away just yet. </p>
<p>July 16 is when 988 went live nationally and callers can also begin using it to call, text or chat.</p>
<h2>What’s wrong with the old number?</h2>
<p>The system behind it, including its <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/our-crisis-centers/">200 call centers</a> currently in the national crisis line network, according to a <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CallCenterMetrics_final.pdf">2019 report on the program</a>. </p>
<p>A major problem is that call centers don’t always have the staff or the technology to handle growing numbers of calls. </p>
<p>Calls that in-state centers are unable to answer get <a href="https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/04/07/988-suicide-prevention-hotline-expected-to-launch-amid-state-concerns/">rerouted to centers out of state</a> through the system’s backup network. This means that the operator may be less familiar with local crises, according to a spokesperson for Vibrant Emotional Health, the nonprofit that administers the crisis line program. Or incoming calls might simply <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CallCenterMetrics_final.pdf">“bunch up,”</a> creating a telephone logjam, and leave callers waiting on hold “too long,” a time period the report does not define.</p>
<p>The report does note, however, that there isn’t a consistent standard for wait times, staffing or other operational aspects of the call centers. State governments regulate them, and they are <a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/our-crisis-centers/#section-4">independently operated</a>. </p>
<h2>How will 988 be different?</h2>
<p>That’s unclear. Vibrant hasn’t released specific plans. Congress hasn’t either, but the Behavioral Crisis Services Expansion Act introduced last year requires call centers to “offer <a href="https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/s1902/BILLS-117s1902is.xml">air traffic control-quality</a> coordination of crisis care in real-time.”</p>
<h2>Where will the money come from to pay for all this?</h2>
<p>The shift to 988 comes with funding at the state and federal levels, as well as federal oversight to assure equitable access. Initial <a href="https://www.vibrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Vibrant-988-Planning-Grant-Announcement.pdf">funding is coming</a> through federal channels, including the American Rescue Plan, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and President Biden’s proposed 2022 fiscal year budget. Most of the long-term funding will come from <a href="https://www.nashp.org/state-legislation-to-fund-and-implement-988-for-the-national-suicide-prevention-lifeline/">individual states</a>.</p>
<h2>Why is all this happening now?</h2>
<p>Much of the discussion began during the pandemic, which really brought <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm">mental health issues</a> to the forefront. A study of 8 million calls to help lines in 19 countries and regions found that call volumes jumped during the initial wave of coronavirus infections. At the six-week peak, the total number of calls was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03454-x">35% higher than before</a> the pandemic.</p>
<p>In the U.S., the <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/18/2020-05794/declaring-a-national-emergency-concerning-the-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak">coronavirus national emergency</a> and the widespread lockdown that followed brought nationwide increases in the number of people <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm">struggling with depression</a>, anxiety and other mental conditions. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113676">Alcohol use increased</a>, particularly among women and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14574">college students</a>. </p>
<h2>Who does 988 benefit?</h2>
<p>Anyone who needs help with their mental health, particularly people in crisis. A major goal of the 988 Lifeline is creating equity in mental health services, especially for those who have not always had consistent or reliable access to mental health care.</p>
<p>For example, Vibrant will provide operators who speak both English and Spanish and telephone interpreter service in over 150 additional languages.</p>
<p>One improvement experts would like to see is the implementation of virtual visits with mental health professionals for those who can’t travel to in-person appointments, like people with disabilities or those in rural areas.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Vibrant Emotional Health’s most recent plans for the 988 Lifeline.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178974/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New federally funded mental health help line features easier access and more consistent regulation.Derek Lee, Doctoral Student in Counselor Education and Supervision, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1586332021-04-08T20:10:56Z2021-04-08T20:10:56ZPhone wet and won’t turn on? Here’s how to deal with water damage (hint: soaking it in rice won’t work)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393956/original/file-20210408-15-1wapm8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=302%2C256%2C4873%2C3189&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever gotten your phone wet in the rain, dropped it in water or spilt liquid over it, you’re not alone. One study suggests <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/zagg-iMktg/images/pr-media/2014/smartphone-and-tablet-damage-study.pdf">25% of smartphone users</a> have damaged their smartphone with water or some other kind of liquid.</p>
<p>Liquid penetrating a smartphone can affect the device in several ways. It could lead to:</p>
<ul>
<li>blurry photos, if moisture gets trapped in the camera lens</li>
<li>muffled audio, or no audio</li>
<li>liquid droplets under the screen</li>
<li>an inability to charge</li>
<li>the rusting of internal parts, or</li>
<li>a total end to all functionality.</li>
</ul>
<p>While new phones are advertised as “water resistant”, this doesn’t mean they are waterproof, or totally immune to water. Water resistance just implies the device can handle <em>some</em> exposure to water before substantial damage occurs.</p>
<p>Samsung Australia has long-defended itself against <a href="https://www.channelnews.com.au/samsung-still-fighting-claims-they-misled-consumers-about-water-resistance/">claims</a> it misrepresents the water resistance of its smartphones. </p>
<p>In 2019, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took Samsung to Federal Court, alleging false and misleading advertisements had led customers to believe their <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ACCC%20v%20Samsung%20Electronics%20Australia%20Pty%20Ltd_Concise%20Statement.pdf">Galaxy phones</a> would be suitable for:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>use in, or exposure to, all types of water (including, for example, oceans and swimming pools). </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Samsung Australia subsequently <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/samsung-in-court-for-misleading-phone-water-resistance-advertisements">denied warranty claims</a> from customers for damage caused to phones by use in, or exposure to, liquid.</p>
<p>Similarly, last year Apple was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-apple-antitrust/italys-antitrust-fines-apple-10-million-euros-for-misleading-commercial-practices-idUKKBN28A0OH?edition-redirect=uk">fined €10 million</a> (about A$15.5 million) by Italy’s antitrust authority for misleading claims about the water resistance of its phones, and for not covering liquid damage under warranty, despite these claims.</p>
<h2>How resistant is your phone?</h2>
<p>The water resistance of phones is rated by an “Ingress Protection” code, commonly called an IP rating. Simply, an electrical device’s IP rating refers to its effectiveness against intrusions from solids and liquids. </p>
<p>The rating includes two numbers. The first demonstrates protection against solids such as dust, while the second indicates resistance to liquids, specifically water.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1113&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1399&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393955/original/file-20210408-21-16ip23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1399&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Here are the various Ingress Protection ratings. The numbering changes based on the level of protection.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Element Materials Technology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A phone that has a rating of <a href="https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-waterproof-is-your-android-phone-or-iphone-heres-what-ip68-and-ip67-ratings-mean/">IP68</a> has a solid object protection of 6 (full protection from dust, dirt and sand) and a liquid protection of 8 (protected from immersion in water to a depth of more than one metre). </p>
<p>Although, for the latter, manufacturers are responsible for defining the exact depth and time.</p>
<p>The popular <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT207043">iPhone 12</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/au/smartphones/galaxy-s21-ultra-5g/models/">Samsung Galaxy S21</a> phones both have a rating of IP68. However, regarding exposure to water, the iPhone 12 has a permissible immersion depth of a maximum of 6m for 30 minutes, whereas the Galaxy 21’s immersion limit is up to 1.5m, also for 30 minutes. </p>
<p>While IP ratings indicate the water-repellent nature of phones, taking most phones for a swim will land you in deep trouble. The salt content in oceans and swimming pools can corrode your device and cost you a hefty replacement. </p>
<p>Moreover, phone manufacturers carry out their IP testing in fresh water and Apple <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207043">recommends</a> devices not be submerged in liquids of any kind. </p>
<p>Luckily, water resistant phones are generally able to survive smaller liquid volumes, such as from a glass tipping over.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/screwed-over-how-apple-and-others-are-making-it-impossible-to-get-a-cheap-and-easy-phone-repair-156871">Screwed over: how Apple and others are making it impossible to get a cheap and easy phone repair</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Checking for liquid damage</h2>
<p>Exposure to water is something manufacturers have in mind when designing phones. Most <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204104">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshooting/TSG01001077/">Samsung</a> phones come with a liquid contact/damage indicator strip located inside the SIM card tray. </p>
<p>This is used to check for liquid damage that may be causing a device to malfunction. An indicator strip that comes in contact with liquid loses its usual colour and becomes discoloured and smudgy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393963/original/file-20210408-22-1lhbmbs.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=623&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Samsung and Apple phones have Liquid Contact/Damage Indicators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Samsung/Apple</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A discoloured strip usually renders your phone ineligible for a standard manufacturer warranty.</p>
<p>If you have any of the more recent smartphones from <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT210424">Apple</a> or <a href="https://www.samsung.com/nz/support/mobile-devices/what-can-i-do-to-remove-the-moisture-detected-notification/">Samsung</a>, then your device will be able to detect liquid or moisture in its charging port and will warn you with an alert. This notification only goes away once the port is dry.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393949/original/file-20210408-13-1fguj00.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New generation Samsung and Apple phones have a moisture/liquid alert notification.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Samsung/Apple</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But what should you do if this dreadful pop-up presents itself?</p>
<h2>Fixing a water-logged phone</h2>
<p>Firstly, do not put your phone in a container of rice. It’s a <a href="https://smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/myth-debunked-uncooked-rice-isnt-best-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/">myth</a> that rice helps in drying out your phone. Instead, follow these steps:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Turn off the device immediately and don’t press any buttons.</p></li>
<li><p>If your phone is water resistant and you’ve spilt or submerged it in a liquid other than water, both <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207043">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshooting/TSG01001449/">Samsung</a> recommend rinsing it off by submerging it in still tap water (but not under a running tap, which could cause damage).</p></li>
<li><p>Wipe the phone dry with paper towels or a soft cloth.</p></li>
<li><p>Gently shake the device to remove water from the charging ports,
but avoid vigorous shaking as this could further spread the liquid inside.</p></li>
<li><p>Remove the SIM card.</p></li>
<li><p>Use a compressed aerosol air duster to blow the water out if you have one. Avoid using a hot blow dryer as the heat can wreck the rubber seals and damage the screen.</p></li>
<li><p>Dry out the phone (and especially the ports) in front of a fan.</p></li>
<li><p>Leave your phone in an airtight container full of <a href="https://www.silica-gel.it/en/blog/save-the-phone-from-the-water--n5">silica gel</a> packets (those small packets you get inside new shoes and bags), or another drying agent. These help absorb the moisture.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not charge the phone until you are certain it’s dry. Charging a device with liquid still inside it, or in the ports, can cause further damage. Apple suggests waiting <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207043">at least five hours</a> once a phone appears dry before charging it (or until the alert disappears). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If the above steps don’t help and you’re still stuck with a seemingly dead device, don’t try opening the phone yourself. You’re better off taking it to a professional.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/upgrade-rage-why-you-may-have-to-buy-a-new-device-whether-you-want-to-or-not-153105">Upgrade rage: why you may have to buy a new device whether you want to or not</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ritesh Chugh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Avoid using a hot blow dryer too, as these can wreck the rubber seals and damage the screen.Ritesh Chugh, Senior Lecturer – Information Systems and Analysis, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1132952019-03-14T10:39:02Z2019-03-14T10:39:02ZRise and fall of the landline: 143 years of telephones becoming more accessible – and smart<p>The global economy <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth">has changed dramatically</a> over the past century and a half. </p>
<p>When I lecture my <a href="http://www.bu.edu/questrom/">Boston University business students</a> on this topic, I use <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/06/explore-top-ten-innovations/">one of the world’s most transformative inventions</a> to illustrate my point: the telephone. </p>
<p>Before the telephone was invented, it was impossible to communicate by voice across any kind of distance. The <a href="https://bebusinessed.com/history/history-of-the-telephone/">landline</a> in 1876, along with the telegraph a few decades earlier, revolutionized communications, leading leap by leap to the powerful computers tucked snugly in our pockets and purses today. And in the process, living standards exploded, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/19900295">inflation-adjusted GDP</a> surging from US$1,200 per person in 1870 to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NYGDPPCAPKDWLD">more than $10,000 today</a>. </p>
<p>What follows are a few facts I like to share with my students, as well as several others that you might not be aware of about how the phone has reshaped our lives – and continues to do so. </p>
<h2>‘Watson – I want to see you!’</h2>
<p>One of the reasons I use the telephone in my lectures is because inventor Alexander Graham Bell actually created his phone and made the first call while <a href="https://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2001/09-14/bell.html">a professor at Boston University</a>, where <a href="http://businessmacroeconomics.com/">I teach</a> economics.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=782&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=983&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=983&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263735/original/file-20190313-123545-m90q7v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=983&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alexander Graham Bell opened the first long-distance line from New York to Chicago in 1892.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell#/media/File:Alexander_Graham_Telephone_in_Newyork.jpg">Gilbert H. Grosvenor Collection/Library of Congress.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The first telephone call <a href="https://www.wired.com/2008/03/dayintech-0310/">happened on March 10, 1876</a>, a few days after the Scottish-born inventor received a patent for the device. After he accidentally spilled <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/alexander-graham-bell-and-thomas-watson">battery acid</a> on himself, Bell <a href="http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/recon/jb_recon_telephone_1.html">called for his assistant</a> with the famous phrase “Mr. Watson, come here – I want to see you!”</p>
<p>But that’s not the end of the story. <a href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/telephone.html">Controversy continues</a> over who actually invented the phone first. While Bell <a href="https://www.wired.com/2008/03/dayintech-0310/">won the series of court battles</a> over the first patent, some historians still give credit to Elisha Gray or Antonio Meucci, <a href="http://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/phones-tablets/who-invented-the-telephone-bell-meucci-gray-reis-ericsson-cooper-11364256543584">both of whom had been working on similar devices</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, in 2002, the U.S. Congress <a href="https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2002/06/11/house-section/article/H3308-1">acknowledged Meucci’s role</a> in the <a href="https://nypost.com/2007/10/01/alexander-graham-bell-a-life-of-invention">invention of the telephone</a> – though it <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-resolution/269/text">didn’t give him sole credit</a>.</p>
<h2>Number of connected telephones</h2>
<p>Phones started out as novelty items <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/connecting-britain/alexander-graham-bell-unveils-telephone/">shown just to kings and queens</a>. </p>
<p>Today, they are something almost everyone carries with them, <a href="https://socialinnovation.usc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Rhoades-et-al-2017-final.pdf">even the homeless</a>. </p>
<p>In 1914, at the start of World War I, there were 10 people for every working telephone in the U.S. By the end of World War II in 1945, there were five people for every working phone.</p>
<p>The technology passed a key milestone in 1998, <a href="https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2001/compendia/statab/120ed/tables/sec18.pdf?#">when there was one phone for every</a> man, woman and child in the U.S.</p>
<p>As of 2017, there were <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-355165A1.pdf">455 million telephone numbers</a> for the United States’ <a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/">325 million residents</a>, or 1.4 per person. About three-quarters of those numbers were tied to mobile phones, a little over 10 percent were for old-fashioned landlines, and the rest were for internet-enabled phones. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263736/original/file-20190313-123545-1pncspx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1150&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This Trimline phone came out in December 1986.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimline_telephone#/media/File:Trimline_December_1986.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>People used to rent their phones</h2>
<p>It may sound odd today, but until the early 1980s many consumers had to rent their phones from AT&T. </p>
<p>Until then, the company had a monopoly over most of the U.S. phone system. And in many states, AT&T would only rent phones to customers. In the early 1980s, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/30/business/at-t-lists-prices-for-phones.html">the rental fee was $1.50 to about $5</a> per month depending on the type of phone.</p>
<p>That changed in 1983, when the U.S. government ended AT&T’s monopoly. Consumers in all parts of the country suddenly had the option to buy their own phone. At the time, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/30/business/at-t-lists-prices-for-phones.html">price for the most basic</a> black rotary dial phone was $19.95, or a bit over $50 in today’s dollars. </p>
<p>The fanciest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimline_telephone">Trimline phone</a> with push-buttons, instead of a rotary dial was sold for about $55, which is just under $150 today.</p>
<h2>Plummeting costs</h2>
<p>One reason phones have become so indispensable for communicating is that the cost keeps dropping to make calls. </p>
<p>Making a coast-to-coast phone call a century ago was very expensive. Back in 1915, a three-minute daytime phone call from New York City to San Francisco <a href="http://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p2-chR.pdf?">cost $20.70</a>. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm">Adjusted for inflation</a>, that means the rather abrupt call cost more than $500 in today’s money. </p>
<p>Over the next half-century, prices fell drastically, although it was still rather pricey. In 1968, the <a href="http://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1975/compendia/hist_stats_colonial-1970/hist_stats_colonial-1970p2-chR.pdf?">same three-minute call cost $1.70</a> – or about $12 today. That’s why, when I was dating the woman who became my wife, we primarily spoke at night – when phone calls were much cheaper – to save a little money.</p>
<p>Today, almost no one thinks about the price of a single cross-country call or tries to keep conversations short to save money. Phone call prices plummeted after the <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/lessons-att-break-30-years-later/">breakup of the U.S. telephone monopoly in the 1980s</a>. And the invention of technologies like <a href="http://www.voipinsights.com/voip_history.html">“voice over IP”</a> – popularized by Skype – pushed prices down even further. </p>
<p>Prices have gotten so low that the Federal Communications Commission stopped tracking the cost of long-distance calls in 2006. After decades of recording phone call costs it reported the <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-284933A1.pdf">average long-distance call in 2006 cost</a> just 6 cents per minute. Since most people don’t pay by the minute anymore an extra minute of talking on the phone today is effectively free. </p>
<p>There’s a dark side to cheap calls, however. <a href="https://theconversation.com/robocalls-are-unstoppable-3-questions-answered-about-why-your-phone-wont-quit-ringing-108554">Robocalls are now constantly spamming Americans</a>. The same reduction in price makes it easy for con artists to ring millions of phone numbers looking for someone gullible enough to believe their pitches.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263737/original/file-20190313-123545-1un4smk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Households without landlines, and just cellphones, tend to be younger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-using-smartphone-516531457">Kaspars Grinvalds/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Phone demographics</h2>
<p>It gets a bit more interesting when you look at what types of phones households still use. There has been a dramatic shift in the last few years from landlines to cellphones, with a surprising connection to our well-being.</p>
<p>In 2018, a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/releases.htm">government survey</a> found that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201812.pdf">almost 55 percent of households</a> use cellphones exclusively, up from <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless200705.pdf">less than 10 percent</a> in 2005. Another 36 percent have both a mobile phone and a working landline. Just over 5 percent of those surveyed said they relied entirely on a landline, compared with over a third of households in 2005. The remaining 3 percent said they didn’t have a phone. </p>
<p><iframe id="8YxtZ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/8YxtZ/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>So who are those people who still only use landlines? </p>
<p>Since it’s the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that actually conducts this survey, we know a little more about those 5 percent. As you might expect, they are primarily <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless201812.pdf">elderly people</a> – and they tend to own their homes. In contrast, households that have only mobile phones are more likely to be made up of young people who are renting. They’re also more likely to be poor and live in the Northeast. </p>
<p>In terms of well-being, the CDC notes that the adults in wireless homes are more likely to be healthier and get plenty of exercise than those with only landlines. Conversely, they are also substantially more likely to have had at least one “heavy drinking day” in the past year and more apt to be a current smoker. </p>
<p>Phones have reshaped our lives. The next time you pull out your phone, spend a minute pondering what your life and the world would be like if the phone hadn’t been created.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A century ago, a three-minute call from New York City to San Francisco on a landline cost $500. Today, you can make the same call on a cellphone for a few cents.Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior lecturer, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/510172016-04-07T09:50:42Z2016-04-07T09:50:42ZCustomer service on hold: we hate phone menus and don’t trust virtual assistants like Siri<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117717/original/image-20160406-28973-18nue9u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This isn't going well.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=255223171&src=id">Man image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>“Just thinking about it makes me break out into hives” reported one man in his 60’s. A woman in her 30’s said she does everything she can to avoid it, including pretending she doesn’t speak English. A woman in her 20’s said she’ll do an intensive online search, including blogs, websites and forums, to find others struggling with the same problem so she feels “less alone.” </p>
<p>No, we’re not describing some terrible social encounter or anxiety-provoking health condition. These are examples of how, in our recent nationwide survey and series of interviews, people described dealing with customer service to get help concerning a product or a service.</p>
<p>For the most part, this negative response was based primarily on experiences with interactive voice response systems (IVRs), or “robo-calls,” as one interviewee described them. Interactive voice response systems are those automated menus, prompts and directories that initially answer so many of today’s customer service phone calls. They require us either to press a series of buttons or speak certain keywords to direct the call. We found IVRs are the most common interface for starting customer service journeys – half our respondents’ “most recent” customer service experiences began with IVRs. And, surprise, surprise, they’re among the least-liked automated formats for customer service.</p>
<p>Our work follows up on a study led by our colleague <a href="http://www.bu.edu/com/profile/james-e-katz/">James E. Katz</a> nearly 20 years ago that detailed how <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/014492997119860">people reacted to IVR technology at that time</a>. In the intervening years, there’ve been surprisingly few studies published on how users now negotiate the dramatic proliferation of communication modalities available for customer service. Outside of proprietary market research, we don’t know that much about users’ feelings concerning the increasing prevalence of voice-activated communication with computers, phones and similar devices. One of our goals was to fill in knowledge gaps about this burgeoning – and for most, irritating – area of media activity.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117719/original/image-20160406-28940-1dwh2w4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Press 5 if you just want this to be over.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=68542516&src=id">Keypad image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Almost nobody likes dealing with IVRs</h2>
<p>Our survey, funded by the industry group <a href="http://www.interactions.com/">Interactions</a>, sampled 1,321 online respondents who were demographically matched to the overall U.S. population. In addition, we conducted 50 in-depth followup interviews and three focus groups to get a better understanding of the patterns in the survey data.</p>
<p>At the beginning of a customer service experience, 90 percent of our respondents want to speak to a live agent. And no matter how their customer service journey starts – with IVR, email, instant messaging, automated chat, virtual assistants (like Siri and similar voice-controlled mobile apps) or social media – by the end, 83 percent have reached a real, live person. Much as Katz and his colleagues saw in 1997, individuals still overwhelmingly want to deal with a human being rather than a machine. If it doesn’t work easily for them, people do what it takes – within what the system permits – to circumvent automated customer service.</p>
<p>When we asked respondents their opinions about IVRs being the most common entrée to customer service help, the results were almost uniformly negative. Only 10 percent were satisfied with their experience and approximately 35 percent of respondents found the systems difficult to use. Just 3 percent actually <em>liked</em> using the IVR service.</p>
<p>These results did not vary appreciably across gender, but younger individuals tended to rate their most recent IVR experience more favorably than older respondents did.</p>
<h2>Other automated modes for customer service</h2>
<p>The general opinions of these various automated modalities for customer service ranged considerably on a four-point scale from “miserable” to “excellent.” On average, virtual assistants such as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/28/technology/personaltech/siri-alexa-and-other-virtual-assistants-put-to-the-test.html?_r=0">Siri, Cortana, Alexa</a> or similar voice-controlled mobile applications performed the worst in the eyes of customers. Their average ranking was just above unsatisfactory, with 19 percent rating them “miserable.” Accessed via voice-activated mobile phone apps, these virtual assistants are <a href="http://www.psfk.com/2014/10/dom-siri-like-dominos-delivery-app.html">becoming more common</a>. </p>
<p>Of the nonhuman mediated interfaces, email and instant messaging were best received. They ranked behind only in-person customer service and live customer service agents on the phone, which had average rankings greater than “satisfactory” but less than “excellent.” </p>
<p>People’s preference to deal with human customer service agents seems to come down at least partly to trust. Live agents scored an average trust level midway between “some” and “a lot” on a four-point scale. Respondents told us they’re confident a real person will “see it through” and they feel more assured that “the call won’t just end” without some sort of resolution. They know they’ll at least have an answer by the end of the call – even if it’s not the one they want to hear. Social media and virtual assistants (such as Siri) were least trusted, with 35 percent and 29 percent of users reporting having no faith in those interfaces, respectively. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/117721/original/image-20160406-29010-19dxlnp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These friendly human operators are probably not standing by.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=155931950&src=id">Operators image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What goes wrong?</h2>
<p>An overwhelming majority reported of respondents problems using IVRs.</p>
<p>Part of the reason IVRs and automated speech recognition platforms are so disliked is that consumers must repeat themselves often when using them. Sixty-nine percent of consumers “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that IVRs make it hard to describe the problem that they’re calling about, and 75 percent “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that IVRs forced them to listen to irrelevant options. Similar percentages thought IVRs present choices that lead nowhere and so achieve nothing, that IVRs have too many menus, and that the prompts used in IVRs are too long. </p>
<p>People also consistently reported their frustration with the robot’s (in)ability to understand them and the need to repeat the same information many times during the interaction without making progress. People still just want to get to a live agent. Overall, respondents reported feeling like the IVR robot is “dragging out the conversation” and forcing them to pick from prompts that don’t really fit their problem. All of this leaves consumers “feel[ing] like I’m being managed,” as one woman described it.</p>
<p>Interestingly, people had strong emotional responses to these experiences. They reported fear about not understanding the prompts or pressing the wrong button, anger and frustration when the IVRs do not lead them to the right place, and an overwhelming sense of stress in general. </p>
<h2>Computer voices distant second to the real deal</h2>
<p>Obviously, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/wired-speech">speech is an integral part of being human</a>. We’re extremely adept at picking up on its social aspects, and can easily distinguish between a voice that is human and one that is synthetic. Our inherent responses to computerized voices are different than to live voices, which influences the level of comfort or frustration we feel with IVR.</p>
<p>Previous research has found that a <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/image-bite-politics-9780195372076?cc=nl&lang=en&">mismatch or incongruities</a> between apparent emotion or delivery of a message and its content make people uncomfortable. This might be one cause for IVR users’ discomfort, but likely is only the tip of the iceberg.</p>
<p>In general, people also become uncomfortable and rate the helpfulness of an IVR lower <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/wired-speech">when synthetic voices refer to themselves as “I.”</a> People are unconsciously discomfitted when the pronoun “I” is ascribed to anything not fully human that possesses agency.</p>
<p>Perceived gender of the voice can also influence how people react to IVR technology. Because of a natural tendency to treat technology socially, people <a href="http://doi.org/10.1145/633292.633461">automatically assign gendered stereotypes</a> to a voice. Indeed, others have argued that so many personal digital assistants like Siri and Cortana have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/1071181312561295">female voices and names because</a> people tend to find them more pleasant and helpful. Male voices, on the other hand, have been rated as more authoritative and contribute to higher perceptions of the usability of the service. </p>
<h2>Rise of the bots</h2>
<p>Our survey respondents held relatively innovative attitudes towards technology and were not especially apprehensive about communication. Even so, exactly half reported feeling that the use of IVRs shows “machines are taking over.” One woman in her 20’s said “it annoys me that the company thinks they can do [customer service] with a robot.” And a woman in her 70’s reported quite succinctly that “if I want to talk to a machine, I’ll yell at my computer.” </p>
<p>In this environment, we were surprised to find instant messaging had the highest favorability and trust rankings of any mediated customer service system, even email. People told us they love the synchronous nature of this communication – they can see that someone is ostensibly typing or working on their answer in real time. Respondents liked that they can simultaneously multitask, so don’t feel they’ve been put on hold. And they don’t have to engage in fake pleasantries during the interaction.</p>
<p>Person-to-person communication remains hard to beat. Instant messaging platforms allow the person seeking support to interact in real time with someone capable of understanding human expression <em>accurately</em> and <em>quickly</em>. One woman reported loving that she can “just type” her questions and “receive an immediate response.” Many echoed this sentiment, and also appreciated having a written log of the conversation as well, things that technology enhances rather than diminishes in this modality.</p>
<p>One of the most interesting findings from our interviews and focus groups was that lots of people initiate live-chat with a company while on hold or dealing with the IVR. In essence, live-chat has become a workaround to the robot roadblocks people confront on the phone.</p>
<p>The fact that instant messaging ranked so highly demonstrates that consumers are open to using technology to improve customer service because it is faster and more immediate. But they’ll intentionally seek out platforms that provide detailed and personalized responses to complex questions in real time that minimize time costs, communication errors and frustration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by Interactions, llc.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Cutino does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Phone trees drive you mad? Just want to talk to an actual person? You aren’t alone – despite the fact that most customer service journeys begin with automated interactive voice response systems.Jacob Groshek, Associate Professor, Emerging Media Studies, Boston UniversityChelsea Cutino, Master's Student in Emerging Media Studies, Boston UniversityJill Walsh, Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/557982016-03-08T10:26:01Z2016-03-08T10:26:01ZEverything you ever wanted to know about nuisance phone calls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113887/original/image-20160304-17726-trviyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How not to deal with sales calls</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">wavebreakmedia/Shuuterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve all experienced it. Your phone rings, you pick it up, say hello and it’s someone you don’t know trying to sell you something – or a recorded message. Nuisance calls can be irritating, time-wasting and for some people, highly distressing. But can anything be done about them?</p>
<p>In July 2013, the <a href="https://ico.org.uk/">Information Commissioners Office</a> (ICO) and telecommunications regulator, <a href="http://www.ofcom.org.uk/">Ofcom</a>, announced they were <a href="http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/silent-calls/joint-action-plan/">joining forces</a> to tackle nuisance calls. Then, from last April, the <a href="https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/nuisance-calls-and-messages/">ICO was given new powers to crack down</a> on nuisance calls through an amendment to the <a href="https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-pecr/">Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations</a>. The results of which are now starting to be seen. </p>
<p>Only last month the ICO issued its <a href="https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2016/02/record-fine-for-company-behind-staggering-46-million-nuisance-calls/">largest ever fine of £350,000 to Prodial</a>, a company that had made more than 46m nuisance calls. </p>
<p>Manchester based <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/business-news/marketing-cold-calls-firm-fined-10904916">MyIML</a>, a telemarking company selling solar panels was also recently fined £80,000 by the ICO for contacting people who had opted out of receiving marketing calls. </p>
<h2>Why are nuisance calls such an issue?</h2>
<p>One of the main reasons nuisance calls are such a big problem these days is that it has never been so easy or cheap to setup a call centre. Today’s telephone network is one large computer and with business connection charges falling, all a telesales company needs is their own computer loaded with software – which is <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=call%20centre%20software">readily available from the web</a>. </p>
<p>With <a href="http://www.voipfone.co.uk/What_Is_Voip.php">modern Voice over IP systems</a>, call centres don’t even need their own direct link to the telephone network, so long as they are connected to the internet. The telesales organisation’s computer can then automatically dial telephone numbers, connecting those that answer through to telesales operators or a recorded message. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113889/original/image-20160304-17714-gy9gyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Don’t call us, we’ll call you!</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tyler Olson/shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>There is generally considered to be <a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/?a=0">three types</a> of nuisance call. <a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/live-marketing-calls/">Live calls</a> are unwanted calls from a real person, normally from a telesales company. <a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/recorded-message-marketing-calls/">Automated calls</a> result in you hearing a pre-recorded marketing message when you answer the phone. And <a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/abandoned-and-silent-calls/">silent or abandoned calls</a> are just that – when you answer the phone no-one’s there. Then there’s also the issue of unwanted <a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/marketing-texts/">SMS text messages</a>. </p>
<p>In January 2016, <a href="https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/nuisance-calls-and-messages/">the ICO received 9,633</a> reports of nuisance calls to be investigated: 45% of these related to automated calls, 42.5% live calls and 12.5% SMS text messages. </p>
<h2>How can you stop nuisance calls?</h2>
<p>With nuisance calls becoming such a, well, nuisance, the telephone providers are now moving to tackle the problem at source. <a href="http://help2.talktalk.co.uk/how-do-i-manage-nuisance-calls">Talk Talk</a> has expanded their HomeSafe system to monitor the frequency of calls and to automatically block those that exceed a threshold from even reaching a customer’s phone. And in February this year, <a href="http://home.bt.com/news/bt-life/bt-offers-breakthrough-service-to-divert-huge-numbers-of-nuisance-calls-11364039280071">BT announced a similar service</a> is to be rolled out across their network. </p>
<p>But on top of this, there is also a lot you can do yourself to help reduce the number of calls. First off, you should always report nuisance calls to either the ICO or Ofcom – so they can be investigated. It’s all too easy to get annoyed and slam the phone down, but if you take a minute to gather as much information as possible and pass it on to the relevant organisation, at least then you might be saving someone else from the nuisance of nuisance calls in the future.</p>
<p>You should also register with the <a href="http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/index.html">Telephone Preference Service</a>. While this alone won’t stop nuisance calls, because it relies on the compliance of organisations, it does act as a deterrent, and is well worth doing if you haven’t done so already. </p>
<p>Another way of managing nuisance calls, is by using <a href="https://www.nfon.com/gb/solutions/resources/glossary/clip/">caller line identification</a> – which allows you to see the number of the person calling you. If you don’t recognise it, you simply have the option of not answering. You can also use call blocking either on your phone or through your telephone provider to stop calls from specific numbers. </p>
<p>Another tip, don’t immediately speak but listen when answering the phone because if it remains silent, there’s a good chance it’s a telesales call. </p>
<p>And of course, you’ve probably heard if before, but do be very careful of the small print on any paper or online form you complete, as you may inadvertently be allowing that organisation to contact you for marketing purposes - effectively saying yes to cold calling. </p>
<h2>Will they ever go away?</h2>
<p>Over the years, telecommunications firms have benefited from connecting companies to their networks and through the sale of services such as call blocking, so it is good to see some of that now being re-invested into tackling nuisance calls. </p>
<p>However, the next challenges are already emerging with a growing number of nuisance calls now being directed towards mobile phones. “<a href="http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/phone-spoof-scam/">Spoofing</a>” has also become a big issue, with telesales companies now able to deceive us, and the network providers, by faking their own telephone number to get you to take the call. </p>
<p>So while it is good to see the regulators have begun the fightback with a renewed determination, sadly, so long as it remains profitable for telesales companies to operate, nuisance calls will continue to plague us. Even if overall volumes are reduced, each one we receive is still a nuisance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nigel Linge is a Fellow of the IET, ITP and BCS Professional Institutions.
He has also received funding for research projects from the EPSRC and EU.</span></em></p>Is hanging-up the only way of getting rid of cold callers?Nigel Linge, Professor, Computer Networking and Telecommunications, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.