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Mobile Phone Calls Declining

There is nothing more fun than extrapolating a trend from a single source of information and broadly interpreting it to make a larger point, particularly, when it is a trend taking place in another country.

Why not?

It could be the days of being bugged by people talking on their cellphone in a restaurant, train or on the street are numbered.

A Reuters news story, citing a report by the U.K.’s telecom regulator, noted that cellphone voice calls dropped by 1 percent in 2011. This is the first time there has ever been a decline in the U.K in such calls. Landline calls fell 10 percent.

The study found Britons preferred communicating via text and social network sites. The average Briton sent 50 texts per week in 2011, double the number from 2007 and spent 90 minutes per week on a social network site.

Remember the brouhaha that ensued when the iPhone3GS antenna issues? Consumers were up in arms because, it was claimed, holding the phone in a certain way degraded the signal making voice calls difficult.

Well, perhaps voice quality will no longer be a priority in the future. This could hold true if kids today are any indicator.

The Reuters story said 96 percent of 16 to 24 year olds used text-based applications to stay in touch, either via texting or social networks on their mobile phone.

This trend could push its way upward through the age spectrum as older adults start to own smartphones. About 39 percent of Britons now own such a device, up 12 percent from 2010.

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