The person who still uses landline lives like this

When millions of AT&T customers across the United States briefly lost their cellphone service last month, Francela Jackson, 61, of Fairview Heights, Illinois, said she picked up her landline and called her friends “just to each other. To laugh” called. Don’t use their phones.”

For many, In the age of smartphones, landlines have become as essential as steamboats and telegrams. But, inspired by the AT&T blackout on February 22, those who have these phones are speaking out in defense of their old phones.

“I love my landline,” Jackson said. “People call me old-fashioned, but I’ll always be old-fashioned.”

Some young people also see the benefits of a landline. Corey Seacrest, 32, of Chicago said he and his girlfriend got a pink phone to use in case of a power outage. When his friends come to visit him, “They stop, look at him and say, ‘What’s that?'” he said. “Stir up some laughter.”

Many Americans grew up with a rotary telephone mounted on the kitchen wall that the entire family had to share.

Author Charlie Penn writes in Apartment Therapy that, as a millennial, she got a landline because it gives her a break from her cell phone, is easier for her dad to access, and takes her back in time. .

Penn wrote, “If plaid miniskirts and thick-soled combat boots can enjoy a welcome return, why can’t I enjoy hours-long conversations using my home cordless phone, as I did in my teens and twenties?” Did it in the decade of ?

According to the latest data collected by the government, about 73 percent of American adults lived in a household without a landline in 2022 but had at least one cell phone. Nearly 90 percent of Americans ages 25 to 29 use only a cell phone, while less than half of those ages 65 and older do so.

Pointing to declining popularity, AT&T last year asked California regulators to be relieved of the obligation to maintain its traditional copper-wire telephone network, the way it served American homes for most of the last century. Was added. He described the proposal as part of an effort to move customers from landlines to mobile phones or fiber optic cables with Internet and landline services. They say 20 other states have already given them permission to make this change.

The proposal has drawn fierce reaction, with hundreds of landline users urging California to reject it. Many say the copper wire system is the most reliable way to communicate with emergency services, as it is usually self-powered.

It’s a concern that has prompted many people across the country to keep their landline phones on.

Katie Lanza, 37, of Fort Worth, Texas, said she was once waiting for a replacement for her cell phone when she became sick early in the morning. With no way to ask for help, he knocked on a neighbor’s door at 2:00 am. That was about 14 years ago, he said, and he’s had a landline ever since.

“I’m always afraid that if something happens to my cell phone, I won’t be able to call anyone,” he said.