Do you want to call a client or simply hear from a loved one? A piece of advice, avoid calling him. Indeed, according to a new INSEE study, 17% of French people never answer the calls they receive on their landline. On smartphones, on the other hand, this figure drops to 2%.
It’s a fact, the smartphone has firmly established itself in the daily life of the French. Today they are 21% to declare not being able to do without their telephone for more than 24 hours. Almost become like an extension of our arm, we spend more a big part of our day, i.e. an average of 4 hours. But if the majority of the population of the population now has a mobile phone, the French are paradoxically less and less reachable.
Indeed, a recent INSEE study, which also revealed that 94% of French people aged 15 to 29 have a smartphone, is interested in our calling habits. The conclusion is quite equivocal. On the landline, 17% of users systematically refuse to answer. They are 26% to explain that they only answer when they know the calling number. Thereby, “ignoring or screening calls is common practice”explains the polling institute.
1 out of 5 French people don’t want you to call them
Note that this figure varies greatly among smartphone owners. Indeed, if a 2017 study claimed that calls are less frequent, only 2% admit never picking up while 30% filter systematically. This difference can be explained in particular by the age group. Thus, while the refusal and filtering rate is between 17 and 21% up to the age of 74, it jumps to 32% after this age. Scams and other cold calling that particularly target retirees are surely not there for nothing.
On the same subject: 68% of French people believe that their smartphone spies on them
Many also say they are unavailable to avoid picking up, preferring to listen to the voicemail message left on their answering machine. Finally, INSEE notes that women are much quicker to respond than men, 77% versus 69%. They are therefore less likely to refuse calls (1% against 2%). According to the pollster, “this could reflect the increased role they play in the daily management of households, which requires them to accept calls more often from unidentified interlocutors”.
Source: Insee
