When was the last time you called someone on their landline? Probably not recently according to new data that shows that, for the first time ever, most households in the UK no longer have a home phone. The number of households with landlines dipped below half to 47% this year, according to Ofcom’s annual technology tracker. Four-fifths of the 65-plus age group still use landlines. But only 16% of under-25s own one.
This is an inevitability, and maybe not such a terrible one. But anyone who remembers life before both mobiles and the internet knows that we have lost something strangely precious. At its most basic, the death of the landline is about the assertion of the control of the individual and about our tyrannical, casual expectation of full personalisation at all times. A mobile phone is something I could never have imagined even existing as a child, let alone owning: a personal phone that you can take everywhere with you. A phone that no one else is allowed to answer without your permission. You are the only one who talks on it. It’s your private device. Imagine. Whereas a landline … Well, that was a call anyone could answer – and usually you wouldn’t even know who was calling. If you’re under 30, this might sound deeply suspect. Nowadays we react to the idea that “it could be anyone” calling with horror. Once upon a time, it was a thrill.
