New tower controller
I guess that’s one way of getting a girls number. But who knows, maybe Chuck manages to turn this situation around?
Yeah, no. Just kidding!
Just recently I pondered at what a strange legacy it is that our contact identity is tied to a phone number. Actually, in today’s age, it might as well be your email address or any other identifier that helps the network identify your device and connect you. But judging by the persistence of fax and checks, I guess phone numbers will be around for a long, long time to come!
Stef
Fax and checks are long gone here. But getting an e-mail address without a phone number can be hard. Buying anything online can be really hard, because they send a one time code by SMS.
Imagine trying to buy a phone online…
Additionally, and technically speaking, forging an email in a digital communication is much easier than a phone number. That’s the reason why a lot of modern communication tool (WhatsApp, FaceTime, Signal…) link your is to your phone number.
Phone numbers are still assigned by a more or less official entity, whereas e-mail addresses are quite arbitrary. So phone numbers are in fact tied to your name, they are “registered” in a true bureaucratic sense. E-mail addresses are not.
On a different note, this “I have a number for you to call” is a very American thing, I guess. I have never heard (of) it in Germany.
Nothing in an email is traceable at all…
For example, the email address I’m about to use while posting this comment is completely legit… Yet didn’t exist before posting this.
(Yes, I do own the domain & control the email server. 😛 )
In the UK, it is normal to have an authentication code sent to an Email address, unless one has specified that a phone number be used for that purpose.