Op-ed: Ear-to-phone is so Out of Style

Not too long ago, a phone was simply for talking. Today, it’s also a camera, computer, diary, and personal newsroom crammed into a palm-sized device.

Many of us whip out our phones to document everything, from cute latte art to ghastly car accidents.

I even have friends forwarding videos of an unfortunate resident’s fatal fall from the fifth storey – body twitching while the phone is rolling.

It’s tragedy turned trending content because mobile phones have made us all part-time producers in the world’s largest reality show.

Thumbs still rule

Despite the video frenzy, texting reigns supreme. Our thumbs still do most of the talking, aided by emojis, GIFs, and cryptic acronyms.

But text is famously tone-deaf. Was that “K” a sign of approval or a cold dismissal? Is “LOL” genuine laughter or passive-aggressive punctuation?

That might explain why some Gen Zers are rediscovering the joy of hearing real human voices although not in the way Alexander Graham Bell – the inventor of the telephone – had imagined back in 1876.

Meet the Proudhailers and Walkie-Squawkies

UK’s mobile virtual network operator, Talkmobile, recently conducted a study of over 2,000 British adults and found that the younger the caller, the less likely they are to adopt the traditional ear-to-receiver pose.

Nearly half of Gen Z Brits do not do it at all.

Instead, they prefer to hold their phones at arm’s length and talk into them like tiny megaphones. These are the Proudhailers. Others, dubbed Walkie-Squawkies, chat hands-free through wireless earbuds as they stride around.

Meanwhile, the traditionalists are hanging on. Eighty-five per cent of Baby Boomers still cradle their phones in the classic ear-to-phone pose, compared to 73 per cent of Gen X, 63 per cent of Millennials, and only 55 per cent of Gen Z.

And, while 17 per cent of Gen Z have gone fully Walkie-Squawkie, just two per cent of Boomers are comfortable with it.

There you have it: The older the individual, the more likely he or she does it the old way.

The phenomenon isn’t limited to Britain.

Singapore joins the chorus

Here too, the trend is loud and clear. In coffee shops, supermarkets, and MRT platforms, Singapore’s own Proudhailers and Walkie-Squawkies are in full voice.

One friend’s daughter even fashioned a shoulder holster from an old scarf so she could talk hands-free while “doing stuff an undergrad does”, as her weary father put it.

Less inventive users just stuff their phones up their sleeves or place their phones nearby and speak for all to hear.

The once-private phone call has become a public performance.

Every generation has its call style

In my parents’ day, phone calls were solemn business, reserved for news too urgent to wait for the next temple gathering.

My generation turned them into long, private chit-chats that lasted for hours and tested our parents’ patience.

We adhered to conventional telephone mannerisms with the advent of mobile phones.

However, members of Gen X treated mobiles as cool tech trophies, flaunting their phones with pride. Then, millennials made phones an emotional lifeline, and feeling totally lost if it was not with them.

And Gen Z? They’ve turned calling into performance art. Conversations now come with choreography – a shoulder shrug here, a screen wave there, maybe a hair flip for emphasis.

The future sounds… louder

If this trend continues, the quiet, private phone call will be history. The world could become one giant open-mic session, each of us broadcasting our personal affairs in real time.

Maybe it’s just evolution. From corded to cordless, wired to wireless, the phone has always mirrored how we live and connect.

The technology may change, but the urge to communicate will endure.

Just don’t expect anyone under 25 to lift the phone to their ear. To them, that is so 1876.