WhitePages closes the book on physical copies. Does anyone really care?
It’s always a shock when I open the door and discover something unfathomable – a phonebook. Rather than check the book and try to discover phone numbers, I’m forced to wonder, “How on Earth are these things still printed?”
I’m not the only one confused by this, apparently, as the Yellow Pages Group Co. has decided to stop printing its residential telephone directory in select places. Unless specifically requested, or if it appears alongside business listings in the Yellow Pages, residential phone books will no longer be delivered to people in Canada’s seven largest cities – Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Quebec City, Toronto, and Vancouver.
This is a sad day…that hardly anyone will care about. In an age where someone can look up a person’s name through a Bing or Google search, find an old friend on Facebook, or get someone’s number from WhitePages.ca, it’s baffling that there would be a need to browse through a physical phonebook. In the time it takes me to look through the closet to locate a phonebook and find a number, I could just as easily jump online and find the same number at least 10 times.
Is anybody really going to miss out on that extra search time? Is anyone going to miss the printed WhitePages at all?
I have a hard time thinking of anyone who hasn’t figured out how to find the same information online in a timely fashion. After all, everything printed in the phonebook is readily-available at YellowPages.ca, WhitePages.ca, or other sources.
That’s why it makes sense that Yellow Pages Co., has decided to stop printing residential phonebooks. I’m surprised it took them this long to realize that there’s not enough use to justify the trees chopped down to make paper, the money used to print ink, and the gas used to transport these books directly from the factory to their final resting place – stuck in my garage until I need something to start the grill.
If you’re among the select few who will still be calling to request a physical copy, sound off in the comments section and help the rest of world understand why you haven’t converted to the digital age.
I’m very computer literate, but when I’m at home and need a number, the white pages are quick and easy. To go down to the basement, turn on the computer, and wait for it to warm up, would take much loooooooooooooonger…
I’m very computer literate, but find the white pages quick and easy to use. To go down the basement, turn on the computer, and wait for it to warm up would take much loooooooooooooooooonger (even with high speed) …
What about visitors from out of town, or anyone that is out of their home and doesn’t have a smart phone or a laptop? Then we have to be charged to call 411 to find a number? I think phone books should always be printed, but maybe not give them to everyone. Give people the option to decide if they want one or not, like anything else. Next round of books sent out, add a slip that we can mail back to say if we want another or not or something.
When I moved and needed emergency medical care, I didn’t have internet yet, and had no way to find out where to go. I’ve also gone through major income loss, and the money that would go to the internet was needed to feed my family. And with mobility issues, go can’t always get to a library to use a computer – if they’re actually open when you need them (mine is closed 2 days/week). My elderly relatives don’t have a clue how to use the internet. And I’ve lived in parts of this country – away from major cities – that do not get proper coverage. ‘No phone books’ works for the rich, but for the disadvantaged, it is another kick.
What happens when you know the person last name but arent quit sure how to spell it, does 411.ca help you try to spell it or is it like the phone book where you can figure out the first few letters and then say “oh there it is”. By the time you go to your computer, start it up, get online, do your search, make sure you spell it right cause if you dont, “sorry, we have found no listing for that name” finally figure out the correct spelling and do get the number, i have already found the number and made my phone call. lets not forget that there are all the business names in the white pages as well so when you need the doctors number or pharmacy number real quick, there it is, in the white pages!
Yet another money grab by the fat cat phone companies and associated subsidiaries. I only hope that the “robust” phone network will be able to handle the increased volume to Directory Assistance.
I can not believe that anyone would agree with the concept of total paperless living.What, no backup???? I, as an individual do not for one second, believe that total contact with the world for every waking moment is necessary for my being a productive and happy person.Sooo, I do not carry communication on my person at all times. Sometimes I have to resort to hard copy for information, hence white pages. I truly believe that (for the average person) it is an erroneous concept to be totaly in touch at all times. Thank you for the sell, to all of the communication giants of the world.( as they utter under their breath “thank you marketing department”.)
I am replying for my parents who still have a pulse line and no computer. I offered them a free one but they were not interested. I think that there is at least 1/2 of the land line subscribers who need the phone book. What other industry shuts out 1/2 the market?
I agree with most of the comments. The author of the article must be a high school kid. I do believe that people from the internet generation have trouble looking up things that are arranged in alphabetical order. Most of us can find a word in a dictionary, or a number in a directory, in under 10 seconds. Not true for internet kids. I think it is a sad day for the older half of the population.
I can guarantee I would find a number in the white pages before you can on the computer!!!!
This is ridiculous. Yes, the times are changing, but sometimes having something physically in your hands gives you better results. There has been many times that I have searched numbers online and you couldn’t find them as it is so sensitive that every letter must be correct. Also, not everyone has a computer. I think this is a bad decision and we are relying on technology far too much and this is someone that has a laptop, desktop computer and an iphone. I still prefer the conventional way best!
A more fair way is to wait for all of us “oldies” to die out! The cost of the phone book used to be included in our phone bills. Will we all get a rebate-ha! Not likely and now we have to pay extra just to use the phone. Sound familiar? We pay taxes that used to include garbage, roads and sewer and now they don’t.
This is not progress, it’s another step back. Shame on all of you who are willing to be inconvenienced and “charged” to death.
All that white pages needs to do is get an electronic reader and provide an electronic book to provide the functionality. If it has receive capability then the company can broadcast the updates a couple of times a year. It could have the additional benefit of being able to change the type size to make it easier for older users to read the numbers
Definately a 20 something writer that is equating his little world with the big real world.
I have relatives that don’t have a computer – should they have to pay directory assistance to get a phone number? I have tried using whitepages.ca and 411.ca, with the correct spelling of the name, and they have no listing for them. These sites will only work if they have the correct information. Will my phone bill get lower because they quite printing this book? Absolutely not. It’s a sad world when we start relying completely on the internet.
The internet is increasingly becoming a necessity for living.
The internet has become a death trap for personal consciousness.
Now what will I have to practice tearing in two will i have to practice on pencil-necked geeks……….
Not everyone’s wired you techno bigot.
As someone who has tried searching through on-line phone books and found them not always correct I think it would be a mistake to stop printing them entirely. Not everyone owns a computer or cell phone despite what many think.
THere aren’t any trees cut down for the Yellow Pages directories in Canada. They are all printed with 100% recycled paper and vegetable based inks.