Prof Brumby discusses the decline of phone calls in The Guardian

Live phone calls are becoming a thing of the past, particularly among younger generations. Many now prefer texting, voice notes, or emails over answering a ringing phone. But why has speaking on the phone become such an unwelcome intrusion? 

Professor Duncan Brumby, Faculty Graduate Tutor (Taught Programmes) in the Faculty of Brain Sciences and a leading expert in Human-Computer Interaction at UCL, recently contributed to a Guardian article exploring this shift in communication habits. The article, written by journalist Kate McCusker, documents her week-long experiment of calling friends rather than texting and examines why many people - particularly those aged 18-34 - find phone calls inconvenient, stressful, or even anxiety-inducing. 

Key themes 

• The conditioning effect of phone calls: In the article, Professor Brumby explains how phone calls have become associated with urgency and stress. “It’s almost like that classic conditioning experiment, where the bell is rung before the food arrives and the dog starts salivating,” he notes. “It’s the same thing when we hear our phone ringing - it signifies that there’s probably something bad coming down the line.” This idea is backed by research showing that younger generations often assume unexpected calls bring bad news. 
• The rise of asynchronous communication: Professor Brumby also highlights how much of life’s social and professional communication has shifted towards asynchronous messaging. “We’ve made better ways of communicating than having live telephone conversations,” he explains. Asynchronous methods - such as text messaging and voice notes - allow people to reply at their own convenience, eliminating the pressure to respond in real time. 
• The role of technology in changing communication norms: This shift away from phone calls is part of a broader evolution in how people interact with technology. Features such as read receipts, typing indicators, and voice notes have changed expectations around availability and responsiveness. As Professor Brumby notes, “Much of life’s more pleasant interactions we now do asynchronously because it’s easier. This allows us to reach our friends, and it doesn’t rely on them being available at the same time.” 

The article offers a fascinating look at how communication habits are changing in the digital age. While phone calls once served as a primary means of staying connected, today’s technologies have enabled more flexible, asynchronous alternatives. However, as McCusker discovers through her experiment, there is still something uniquely valuable about real-time conversation. 

In a recent Substack post, Professor Brumby takes a deeper dive into this topic and explores how the illusion of always being available through smartphones and social media platforms impacts the way we connect.