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Ask HN: Why are ringtones not interesting anymore?

18 points by lagrange77 ↗ HN
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?

43 comments

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ev1
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
Oh wow, i didn't know that about gen z.
ev1
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
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.

lagrange77
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)?

Jarwain
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)
Jtsummers
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.
fragmede
Could be? the signal to noise ratio is something like 1:100, and if it's important they'll leave a message.
ev1
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.

tricolon
At least for me, most incoming calls are spam. If it's important, I will either anticipate it or the caller will leave a voicemail. In the past several months, I think I've received one unanticipated call from a friend.
schwartzworld
I'm 40. My parents are the only people who call me ever.
CosmicBagel
Here's the thing, where I live (Canada) spam calls have become so bad that (unless you're in my contacts already) I almost never answer the phone. The scams aren't even in English most of the time :/

Actually it's filtered so that only 3 or so of my contacts get through the dnd.

*Scheduled calls / expected calls from specific companies are my one exception.

thaanpaa
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.
owow123
This is my one and only gripe with "gen z".

Phone calls take 1% of the time to communicate complex ideas, I dont have to write documentation level explanations and I can hear your responses / tone and dynamically adjust to fit the conversation.

My feelings on this are especially prevalent at work, I understand more in an informal setting.

We have < 25's working in sales who HATE phone calls... it will be interesting to see how they make it in the future. The current "senior" sales reps go to the pub or play golf with clients & suppliers every now and then. I guess only the metrics will tell.

That being said if I have to text anyone > 40 I basically cry because they cant express any level of emotion over text and their over use punctuation I interpret as blunt.

God getting old is hard work (im only a > 25 < 30 something).

rongenre
I'm an over 50 gen-x er. The protocol is to text first to see if I'm available to chat, and then do the call.

Unscheduled phone calls, if you're not my kids, go straight to voicemail.

GOATS-
Interesting, I'm also a Gen Z and I prefer to call rather than text, especially if I'm organizing something with a group of friends. I often exchange phone numbers with people if I know I'm going to be seeing them again soon.
smoldesu
The powers-that-be decided that file management is a desktop-class feature.
themodelplumber
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
The default factory in case of some devices is a good example of status symbol
lagrange77
Didn't think of that, makes sense. Like white headphone cables vs. custom (potentially technically superior) ones in the iPod days.
Jtsummers
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
> 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.
serf
those two along with MGS Codec and Final Fantasy 'Menu Noise' are like the geek hall-of-fame ringtones.
kevinherron
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.

maksimur
It shocks me to see so many comments mentioning they keep silent/vibrate and how commonplace it seems to be, but it makes sense as I don't hear so many phones ringing anymore, now that I think of it. I tried to have my phone on vibrate but I always end up missing important messages and calls. No idea how you do it.
xmonkee
>but I always end up missing important messages and calls

i do too, but that's fine. Generally speaking, people arrange calls beforehand now.

cma
Smart watches do a better job of vibration based notification.
jghn
Phone calls aren't really a thing anymore but if someone sends me a message I feel it in my pocket. And if I miss something, so be it. Smart watches can also be configured to buzz your wrist on an incoming message.
krab
> Phone calls aren't really a thing anymore

Aren't they? What have I missed? Messages are async - if you don't want to disturb, calls are sync - if you need confirmation from the other side or you need several exchanges back and forth.

I text much more than ten years ago but I call (and receive calls) the same or perhaps slightly more.

mikebenfield
I estimate that I receive maybe one unanticipated non-spam call per year.
jghn
I get a few from elderly relatives. And a few more from businesses with legit reasons to call me but who either have not shifted to text/email or blast multiple communication channels.

I never answer my phone unless I'm expecting it or if it is a close relative and I'm not otherwise occupied. I never listen to a voice mail. If I recognize the caller and want to respond I'll send them a text when I get to it. If I don't recognize the caller I might give a quick skim of the VM transcription to see if it was actually important, but it almost never is.

barbariangrunge
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
schwartzworld
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.

ravishi
I used to spend time configuring my wallpaper and many other things in my computers. Today I use it only for work and change only the strictly necessary. I want less friction.

Today I hit a though decision: I missed the niceties of fish shell on the VM I work on, but everyone else uses bash so it's so much more convenient to share commands through chat, pairing sessions, etc. I have postponed the decision.

fragmede
Apple has not chosen to bless the plebs with this functionality, so it does not exist.
scotteric
My friend had a phone during the early 2000s that allowed you to input notes to make your own ringtone. That was a unique feature. I can't remember the phone though. This was pre-android and maybe even monochrome.
suprjami
Most Nokia phones around the time of The Matrix film could do this.
the_only_law
I hardly call anyone anymore and I answer calls even more rarely.
simonblack
I went through the 'pager era' in the 70s and 80s. It was always most annoying when in a group and a pager went off. Whose was it? We would all be reaching for our pagers to see it it was us.

The same thing happened when 'the small-brick' mobile phones came in around the late 80s to early 90s.

Finally, we eventually got phones with selectable ringtones around the mid 90s. I have always since then used a personal ringtone that is different from anybody else's. And no, I don't put it on 'silent' because a lot of the time I don't have it in my pocket.

nikau
cell phones didn't typically have vibration in the mid 90s, the best my Ericson of that era had was an incrementing volume ringtone.
Havoc
The only people with phones not on silent are the ones that can’t read the room in my experience.

Invariably also same crowd using laptop speakers in an open plan.

getpost
I agree the most likely reason is that voice calls have become much more rare. But, a novelty-wearing-off effect may also be in play. When multiple fonts first became available, lots of people used lots of fonts-- the ransom note effect. Today there are more fonts than ever, but the vast majority of text is in the default proportional and monospace fonts.
CosmicBagel
In my experience, interesting ringtones are mostly just used for alarms & reminders. A classic being Chop Suey by System of a Down as your wake up alarm.