Arabic version: جيل زد والمحتالون يتحدّون تحية الهاتف «مرحباً»

According to The Guardian, the familiar telephone greeting “hello” is facing pressure from changing calling habits among younger people and from concerns about AI-enabled voice scams. The word appeared in print a couple of hundred years ago, although related attention-grabbing expressions such as “holla”, “hollo”, “halloo” and “hillo” have been used in English since at least the 16th century.

The telephone helped make “hello” a standard greeting after Alexander Graham Bell invented the device in 1876. Thomas Edison argued for a new standardised greeting because calls could cross time zones instantly, making phrases such as “good morning” and “good evening” less useful. Edison preferred “hello” to Bell’s preferred “Ahoy-hoy”.

Caller ID and changing communication patterns have since reduced the need for a formal opening, the report said. The New York Times has reported that young people may answer calls with “Hi”, “What’s up?” or “Yeah?”. A survey last year found that 40% of 18-24 year-olds believed it was acceptable to answer a phone call without any greeting.

The shift also reflects the way conversations now continue across texting, direct messages, email and phone calls. A call may be treated as a continuation of an existing exchange rather than a separate interaction requiring a formal greeting.

For unidentified callers, remaining silent at first may also be a safety measure. The report said scammers can use AI to replicate a person’s voice from a telephone greeting and then use the clone to seek money from relatives or friends. Coverage by consumer watchdog Which?, the BBC and the Guardian has highlighted the risk. The advice is to wait until a friendly human being is confirmed on the line before speaking.