You really should call your mother more often. You know that. I know that. None of us did anything about it, until we were stuck at home with our phones in our hands all day, and we suddenly remembered our phones could make phone calls.
The phone call, a typically overlooked and underused tool of communication, has helped Americans maintain a sense of community in the midst of a global pandemic that has upended our way of life completely.
Telecommunications providers have reported a greater surge in old-fashioned voice calls, according to the New York Times. Verizon said it is handling an average of 800 million wireless calls during the week, and the length of these calls is 33% longer than phone calls made before the outbreak. AT&T has reported a similar phenomenon, with its users logging voice calls 35% more often now than they did in normal times.
Internet use has increased, too, but not as much as telecommunications providers expected. AT&T and Verizon both said internet traffic has grown around 20%. These numbers suggest that when given the choice (and the time), people choose an audible connection over a virtual one.
But why now? The past few years have shown an alarming decrease in phone calls as social media and texting have become the new preferred medium. But now that’s changing because it’s the closest thing to normal communication that many people have been able to find. Take, for example, 32-year-old Grace McClellan, who told the New York Times that she synchronizes a daily walk-and-talk with her best friend because “it feels as close as possible to a real walk together.”
Communication, especially face-to-face conversation, fellowship, and friendship, is a gift — one that many of us took for granted. The coronavirus could change that, according to Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission.
“We’ve become a nation that calls like never before,” she said. “We are craving human voice.”
