Why a ringtone (any ringtone) shows your age
Thirty years ago the sound of a mobile phone ringing in your pocket was something of a status symbol.
Now it just marks you out as being middle aged or elderly, researchers say.
Most children and young people prefer silent mode, leading to a slump in downloads of novelty ringtones.
Analysts said young people no longer need ringtones because they spend so much time looking at their phones.
They also said today’s teenagers prefer to communicate discreetly, preventing others eavesdropping on their conversations.
Jenny Ehren, of analytics firm Childwise, said: “A lot of them take their mobiles to school when they are not meant to have them, and that behaviour becomes more of a habit.
“When they get older privacy is an important factor. It is easier to message someone discreetly than it is to speak to them on the phone, particularly at home.”
Childwise found increasing numbers of young people wear fitness devices which vibrate when a message or call comes through.
Ernest Doku, of comparison site Uswitch, said the UK was heading in the same direction as Japan, where the sound of loud ringtones in public is frowned upon.
Between 2016 and 2020 ringtone app installations on phones in the UK slumped 20% from 4.6 million to 3.7m.