Does anybody actually remember phone numbers these days ?

Edit : I do remember the half a dozen I use or might really need, and already feel like an outlier. ( And as pointed in another comment, they're already 11 digits each. Not that much of a difference. )

I'm 18, the only number I remember is 08456060973 because it was used for a radio show I used to listen to and they'd repeat it constantly. I seldom communicate via the telephony network, if I need to call someone I call them on Telegram, my mum uses Viber, my Dad uses Skype, and if I need to message someone there's more than enough options for that.

> Does anybody actually remember phone numbers these days ?

Yup, all the ones I knew as a kid in the 80s and early 90s, and haven't used for 2 decades.

Same here, indeed. And for 3 decades too.

> Does anybody actually remember phone numbers these days ?

Children do, or should. Even very young children should be taught until they have memorized their own phone number.

And even older children might not have phone yet, but still need to be able to call home.

I wonder if parents these days just put "Mom" and "Dad" contacts in their kids' phones and don't bother teaching their kids their phone numbers

I have had the same number for 10 years. A few months ago I made a conscious effort to remember it since I was getting fed up of referring back to my contacts list on a daily basis.

No, properly not perhaps. But it would be a nice feature when you have to exchange phone numbers.

We exchange cards as a matter of daily interaction. The biggest issue is reading properly a name ( kanji ), not the other data in them.

I haven't learned a new phone number in almost 14 years. And the ones I do know are all in the same area code, so I really only have to know 7 digits each.

> 14-digit!? No one can possibly remember that easily...

I have no problem at all remembering my 22-digit IBAN. I know people who memorize random-generated 30-character passphrases. But yeah, we don't seem to be the norm.

> Why not alphanumeric

Because that mean re-inventing the phone system and making it incompatible with all existing and future devices made for the whole rest of the world.

These are going to be for 5G IoT devices anyway, the phone number is just going to be for billing use, all the actual traffic is going to be over IP

The numbers are for machine-to-machine communication. No one will be calling them.

Memorising peoples phone numbers is about as ridiculous as memorising ipv6 addresses, sure you can do it, but what's the point? You've got a perfectly capable computer in your pocket to remember it for you.

You were involved in an accident and your phone was destroyed. Your doctor asks you who they should call. Now what?

Insurance has my emergency contacts

Could you log in to social media and message someone? Or log into google/apple/yahoo and check your contacts?

No, because my password is in my password manager, and I need my (now destroyed) phone for 2FA.

A battery powered device which is prone to failure / running out of power

What exactly are you going to call them on if it does?

Borrow a phone, use a pay phone with reverse charging if required.

Another people's phones.

If I can get online I can get to my contacts. Its been a non issue for me for 20+ years. I'm not going to optimise for something that's not been an issue for 20 years.

I remember 12 digit IP addresses all the time