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Instagram handles are replacing phone numbers as our primary contact info

As long as I don’t have to actually talk to someone, fine.

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With over 1 billion current monthly users, Instagram has not only become the social media platform of choice for young people and pedophiles of all generations, but the go-to business networking site, as well (LinkedIn, on the other hand, remains the prime destination for MAGA trolls ostracised from Facebook).

In fact, IG handles are rapidly replacing our actual phone numbers as the contact info we choose to hand out, according to a recent report by The Atlantic.

“It’s so much more casual to give someone your Instagram handle and keep in touch through stories and DMs,” says Chris Rackliffe, a motivational spokesman.

“I cannot imagine preferring phone number to Instagram handle,” said Ziad Ahmed, the founder of Juv, a Generation Z consulting agency.

If you can fight off the near stroke-inducing cringe that a phrase like “Generation Z consulting agency” induces, it’s hard not to agree with Ahmed’s point. Swapping phone numbers has become an oddly personal thing in recent years, largely because it’s one of, like, three pieces of information about you someone needs to completely destroy your life.

And besides, social media has basically turned us all into personal “brands” constantly PRing our own lives, so why gain a phone number when you can gain a follower?

There is another upside to all this migration.

In days past, you’d be forced to call up that random business contact and suffer through hours, perhaps even days worth of small talk in order to pump them for the information/promotion you need. Now, you can simply go to their page, see what some of their interests are, and DM them a relevant/fire meme. Sure beats giving them a number that grants them access to your voting history, if you ask me.

“Usually someone hands you their phone, and you follow yourself on their Instagram,” said Rachel Schultz. “It’s nice because you can then share things with them like events or funny things or whatever they’re into, which makes nourishing new friendships easy.”

It also makes ending those friendships over a 2 a.m. text consisting solely of an eggplant emoji text easier than ever, or so I’ve been told.

What do you think? Do you find yourself giving out your phone number as often as you used to? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Writer. Editor. Barelyknewer. Hate mail can be directed to j j o n e s @ k a r s f o r k i d s d o t e a r t h l i n k

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