Landline phones are hanging around, but just barely

In a study sure to shock you to the core, it appears that citizens in the US are close to giving up on landline telephones — but haven't done so just yet.

A US Department of Health and Human Services study released today found that 50.8% of American homes have gone exclusively wireless with their phones.

39.4% of homes used both landlines and at least one wireless phone, meaning that just 6.5% of homes in the US were landline-only, leaving 3.2% of homes not having a phone at all — wired or not.

According to the polls, the latter half of 2016 was the first time a majority of US households were wireless-only.

Phone Factors

Going off the results, mobile phones seem especially popular with the millennial crowd, as the study also found that a whopping 70% of adults aged 25-34 didn't use landlines.

Living situation also played a role, as a majority of adults who rented their homes and more than four in every five adults living with roommates or other unrelated adults were wireless-only. Makes sense, given it's another utility bill to split among people who may prefer having their own personal number.

The Health Department's findings also found income to be a factor, saying that approximately two-thirds of those living in poverty didn't use landlines in comparison to those with higher income.

While it's surprising that landlines still hold on to dear life in the face of smartphones (as well as voice-over-IP alternatives like MagicJack) it's no shock that wireless is becoming the new standard in American homes — and how could you blame them? That's where all the apps are.

Via The Verge