With digital technology hurtling forward at breakneck speed and today's youth conversing with one another at any time without actually making a call, things are arguably coming full circle. Research shows a trend back towards pure audio, versus the ubiquitous text and video-messaging or a toggled combination of all three. Hands-free, bluetooth ear pods now seem eons away from old cord-bound phones, providing us with the freedom to multi-task while chatting away, either to one other, or an entire group of friends at once. It's the ability to multi-task it seems, that is driving a trend back towards audio communication. A fortnight of monitoring of San Fransisco teenagers' cell phone behaviour revealed that while they used the video-chat function, their phones were pointed at the ceiling, indicating that audio-alone was the most important feature. Who can remember the 'Nommer-asseblief?' days of a country switchboard where the operator knew more about village affairs than a Zuma or apartheid era spy? At least today's eavesdroppers can be blocked, although technology overall has rendered our private lives accessible to just about anyone with advanced digi-tech knowledge. – Chris Bateman

The phone call isn't dead, it's evolving