Editing 2053: Incoming Calls
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic shows a graph | + | {{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | This comic shows a graph of incoming phone calls over time to [[Randall]] since he was younger than six years. The graph doesn't show the absolute numbers but the proportion of callers. Because it's safe to assume that calls from his family didn't decrease over the years, other calls just increased over time and this graph can be misunderstood because the number of calls in the recent years are probably much higher than in 1990. This leads to Randall's second header line when he states that he "finally stopped picking up for unknown numbers", which is still roughly the same fraction but the amount is much more today. | ||
− | Wrong numbers used to be a small but significant portion of the phone calls that Randall received and remained fairly steady until the late 1990s, when they began a gradual and accelerating decline, eventually tapering off to nearly none in 2015. This is likely due to the rise of cellphones and programmable land-line phones, which contain their own address books and only require the caller to enter the number once, greatly reducing the chances of accidentally entering a wrong number in general and eliminating the possibility entirely for anyone with whom you have taken the time to save their number. | + | Wrong numbers used to be a small but significant portion of the phone calls that Randall received, and remained fairly steady until the late 1990s, when they began a gradual and accelerating decline, eventually tapering off to nearly none in 2015. This is likely due to the rise of cellphones and programmable land-line phones, which contain their own address books and only require the caller to enter the number once, greatly reducing the chances of accidentally entering a wrong number in general and eliminating the possibility entirely for anyone with whom you have taken the time to save their number. |
− | + | It is not clear exactly why appointment reminders and misc calls have steadily increased with time, though it is possible that as Randall grows older, his responsibilities, and thus the number of appointments and legitimate businesses who need to contact him, have grown. | |
− | The proportion of family | + | The proportion of friends who call Randall rapidly increased in the 1990s and began to overtake family, probably because he has gained friends over time and because as they grew up they were more likely to own their own phone, and starting in the 2000s, their own cellphones. Over time, Randall's friends and family have been less likely to make phone calls to him, likely due to the use of text messages and other messaging apps. Additionally, although there was a large percentage of phone calls from legal {{w|Telemarketing|telemarketers}} in the 1990s, this percentage has significantly dropped, most likely due to the creation of the {{w|National Do Not Call Registry}}, which allows individuals and families in the United States to register phone numbers that are exempt from telemarketers. Instead, there has been a rise in phone calls from {{w|Phone fraud|scammers}} and political advertisements. Even if a phone number is registered on the National Do Not Call Registry, they may still receive phone calls from political organizations. It is implied that the latter two groups have caused Randall to stop answering phone calls from unknown numbers. |
− | + | The title text refers to a common scamming tactic in which a {{w|Robocall|robocaller}}, typically one named "Emily," will claim to be having trouble with their headset and say "Can you hear me now?" The trick is that you will think you're talking to a person, not a computer that took a second or two to connect. However, this is not the case and will usually simply transfer the victim to a real person to get scammed. | |
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− | The title text refers to a common scamming tactic in which a {{w|Robocall|robocaller}}, typically one named "Emily," will claim to be having trouble with their headset and say "Can you hear me now?" The trick is | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
:[A line graph shows the portions of phone calls by type over time beginning slightly before 1990 until today.] | :[A line graph shows the portions of phone calls by type over time beginning slightly before 1990 until today.] | ||
:'''Incoming personal calls over time''' | :'''Incoming personal calls over time''' | ||
:or: why I finally stopped picking up for unknown numbers | :or: why I finally stopped picking up for unknown numbers | ||
− | :[The x-axis is labeled with years beginning at 1990 in five | + | :[The x-axis is labeled with years beginning at 1990 in five year segments up to NOW (2018). The y-axis shows a relative distribution of callers.] |
:[The calls are (from top to down):] | :[The calls are (from top to down):] | ||
:Appointment reminders, misc. (small growing all over time) | :Appointment reminders, misc. (small growing all over time) | ||
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:Other scammers (beginning in 2010, replacing the auto insurance, increasing until today) | :Other scammers (beginning in 2010, replacing the auto insurance, increasing until today) | ||
:Political (starting in 2002 and increasing since then) | :Political (starting in 2002 and increasing since then) | ||
− | :Wrong numbers (constant up to 2000 and then decreasing to nearly today) | + | :Wrong numbers (constant up to 2000 and then decreasing to nearly zero today) |
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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[[Category:Line graphs]] | [[Category:Line graphs]] | ||
[[Category:Timelines]] | [[Category:Timelines]] | ||
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