[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Why are ringtones not interesting anymore?
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Ask HN: Why are ringtones not interesting anymore?
Back in the Nokia days until the early smartphone days, custom
phone ringtones were popular things to have. I think the main
reasons were distinguishability in crowded places and the demand
for individualisation. I believe they were also one of the first
digital assets, that were sold. Nowadays, most people seem to have
settled on either the vintage phone sound, or the default factory
setting. Which leads to indistinguishability and homogenisation.
What are your thoughts on the reasons for that?
Author : lagrange77
Score : 7 points
Date : 2022-11-01 21:23 UTC (1 hours ago)
| ev1 wrote:
| In my groups (gen z), I do not know a single person that even
| makes calls, ever. Phones are on silent/dnd.
|
| If you ever get a "real" phone call (not via discord, whatsapp,
| etc) it's either something you are explicitly expecting
| unavoidably (you would try as hard as possible to get them to
| email you or text you) or it's a scammer.
| lagrange77 wrote:
| Oh wow, i didn't know that about gen z.
| ev1 wrote:
| I don't know how well this generalises, but in my sample size
| most people including myself don't even know our own phone
| number if asked. You don't exchange phone numbers. You might
| hold out your phone for the other person to scan your
| Snapchat QR or tell them @hn2022 and a platform like
| instagram. If you say hn#2022 people know automatically which
| platform that is. A sizable amount don't even have phone
| numbers and opt for data plan only for cost savings if paying
| for their own plan.
| tricolon wrote:
| Early thirties here: my friends and I do not call people
| except for older relatives on occasion. We've kept our phones
| on vibrate for a decade and a half now.
|
| We do, however, know our own phone numbers, and asking a cute
| stranger or a new friend for their number is still a thing.
| schwartzworld wrote:
| I'm 40. My parents are the only people who call me ever.
| lagrange77 wrote:
| Interesting. I'm in my thirties, too and phone calls
| between me and close peers are quite common. Business also.
| Less so, than a decade ago though.
|
| > We've kept our phones on vibrate for a decade and a half
| now
|
| I get that you prefer not to call people. But why are you
| less interested in incoming calls (could be important)?
| fragmede wrote:
| Could be? the signal to noise ratio is something like
| 1:100, and if it's important they'll leave a message.
| Jarwain wrote:
| Very rarely have I found an incoming call to actually be
| important, unless it's something I'm anticipating (i.e. A
| callback from a doctor's office)
| ev1 wrote:
| For younger group, you don't generally know or give out
| your number in the first place for person to person
| communication, which means that for the rare chances you
| are expecting, say, a medical call once a quarter or
| less, it's a scam. I don't know my best friend of 10+
| years phone number but I can reach them in multiple ways.
|
| If you're older the ratio probably tips it further into
| the "likely to be a valid call" I'm guessing.
|
| I receive something on the order of one legitimate call
| every 5-8 months, everything else is spam/scam. There is
| absolutely no point in me accepting a call.
|
| A formal phone call is generally synchronous, not
| asynchronous. It is extremely blocking behaviour and I
| hate it. Joining a group call with a few friends or even
| just 1-2 other people on discord or whatever else that
| you can drop out at any time without notice is a
| different type of "mood" and completely different set of
| standards. You can drop in and out in seconds, pop in to
| say hi and leave while you have your airpods in on while
| riding bart, , or spend hours just discussing dumb shit,
| etc.
| Jtsummers wrote:
| Not the GP, but my phone is almost always on my desk
| (when working), on the coffee table (when at home), in my
| pocket (when out and about), or hooked up to my car
| giving me music. I only rarely miss a call even though,
| other than when it's connected to the car audio system,
| my phone only vibrates when I get a call or message. It's
| pretty hard to miss. A ringtone would only help if I kept
| it in a separate room, which only happens when I forget
| it in the basement gym.
| thaanpaa wrote:
| It's not just Gen Z. I'm a Gen X'er, approaching 50 fast, and I
| think I've had my phone on silent since 2011. More or less the
| same with my friends. The sound only gets switched on when
| expecting a call.
| smoldesu wrote:
| The powers-that-be decided that file management is a desktop-
| class feature.
| schwartzworld wrote:
| Here's my take:
|
| Ringtones were never really interesting. When I got my first cell
| phone it was fun choosing from the limited set of included
| ringtones, and my friend had one where we could program our own
| monophonic songs, which was cool. But it was just novelty, like
| changing your desktop wallpaper. And like desktop wallpaper,
| anything too complex or interesting can become an annoying
| distraction.
| themodelplumber wrote:
| In my experience, ringtones are usually going to disturb some
| other soundtrack I've got on. Movies, music, ham radio, etc. So
| vibrate & light screen is my usual.
|
| I do like playing with them for things like alarms and specific
| callers though, and sometimes make new ones using vintage
| keyboards (r/cheapkeys).
| pndy wrote:
| The default factory in case of some devices is a good example of
| status symbol
| lagrange77 wrote:
| Didn't think of that, makes sense. Like white headphone cables
| vs. custom (potentially technically superior) ones in the iPod
| days.
| kevinherron wrote:
| Myself and everybody around me keep their phones on
| silent/vibrate.
|
| If your phone or computer makes noise in a public setting, I
| assume you have either no manners or self-awareness, or that you
| don't know how to use your device.
| Jtsummers wrote:
| The only ringtones I hear are "interesting" ones. The Star Trek
| (TOS) theme from one colleague, going off whenever his wife
| (usually) calls. A coworker who has custom songs for various
| people. I only very rarely hear any other kind of ringtone.
| Everyone else seems to have done like me, switched their device
| to silent/vibrate.
| lagrange77 wrote:
| > The Star Trek (TOS) theme from one colleague The TOS wall
| panel whistle signal is also nice for messages, while i prefer
| the TNG communicator jingle.
| fragmede wrote:
| Apple has not chosen to bless the plebs with this functionality,
| so it does not exist.
| barbariangrunge wrote:
| On iOS, I could not figure out after a day of searching how to
| use an mp3 as a ringtone without having a Mac and some sort of
| iTunes sync. That is why my ringtone is the borjng default. My
| android ringtone was wonderful imho
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(page generated 2022-11-01 23:02 UTC)