Is Talking Over? Research Reports Phone Chatting Time Down Over an Hour Since 2009

From an evolutionary standpoint, it is curious that as a species we appear to be abandoning one of our most distinctive advantages. But the anecdotal evidence certainly suggests that the vocal chords are being supplanted by the thumbs. Now research confirms the intuitive: Americans are talking far less than they used to, while the number of texts being sent is skyrocketing.

The usual explanation from interviewees is that texting is faster or easier. Maybe, but not likely. Typing on a miniscule keypad with two thumbs is only a little less difficult than writing with a pencil between your toes. What it is, however, is more convenient. Conversations are messy, time consuming - and - require listening. Texting offers control; we can send the message we want without having to indulge in lengthy dialogue.

The question remains, why are we resistent to verbal interaction? Are we so stressed? Are we so tired of being buffeted by media from all sides? Is our personal space shrinking that much? Or is it like privacy; another trade-off in which convenience wins over the alternative? JL

Bianca Bosker reports in the Huffington Post:

When it comes to communication, our new motto may well be: text me--don't tell me.

According to new data from J.D. Power, a consumer research and marketing company, Americans are now talking on their cellphones over an hour less per month than in 2009.
J.D. Power writes in a press release for its 2011 Wireless Network Quality Performance study:

Wireless usage patterns continue to evolve, as fewer calls are being made or received. On average, wireless customers use 450 minutes per month, a decline of 77 minutes from 527 in 2009. Customers are using their devices more often for text messaging. The study finds that wireless customers sent/received an average of 39 text messages during an average two-day period. During the course of a month, this equals more than 500 incoming/outgoing text messages.

Talking on cellphones has gradually given way to texting, emailing, and video chatting, as well as gaming, media consumption and a slew of other activities now made possible thanks to smartphone applications.

According to a 2010 Nielsen survey, teens send an average of 3,339 text messages each month and spend an average of 646 minutes per month chatting on the phone, a number that declined 14 percent between 2009 and 2010. Nearly a quarter of the young adults surveyed by Nielsen explained the shift by noting that text messaging was "easier" and "faster" than calling.

Teens aren't alone in SMSing: A recent report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project also found that text messaging was one of the most popular uses for cellphones, with 73 percent of American adults saying they use their phones to text.

It wasn't until the end of 2007 that the number of text messages sent each month overtook the number of calls placed--and then, only barely: according to Nielsen, by Q4 2007, Americans placed an average of 213 calls each month and sent on average 218 text messages in the same period.