Class war and the 226
Sun, November 20, 2005
You'll be dialing more numbers next year when you phone sleepy suburbanites, country folk or downtown-dwelling yuppies.
And it's possible you'll be making those very same class assumptions when you do.
When a second area code is brought into Southwestern Ontario's 519 zone next year, it could do more than add three extra digits to every phone call.
A pop-culture expert warns it may connect the region to a new level of class competition -- the 519s against the 226s.
Thanks to the exploding popularity of cellphones, the 519 area code has run out of seven-digit numbers, making the 226 prefix necessary.
All calls, including local calls, will require 10-digit dialing starting next summer.
But beyond simple inconvenience, the conjoined area codes may also cause broad social complications.
"It's another form of inclusion or exclusion," said Tim Blackmore, a pop culture professor at the University of Western Ontario.
"You can refer to a whole band of people by referring to . . . numbers on the dial, making assumptions on who are members of the community. That's a worrisome thing."
To Blackmore, the concern is simple: A 519 or 226 number could denote broad generalizations -- socio-economic, for example -- about the person who holds it.
In Toronto, the area-code distinction between the 416, 905 and newest 647 zones carries some social weight, he said.
The 647ers, interspersed with 416ers, are the area newcomers; both see 905ers as suburban sleepwalkers, while 905ers think of their counterparts as career-driven yuppies.
In Vancouver, the introduction of a second area code in the mid-1990s also sparked a strong community reaction, said Blackmore, who lived there at the time.
"It encourages people to think about groups in an abstract way that doesn't bear any resemblance to reality," he said. "It (potentially) indicates a newer community as opposed to an older community.
"We hold a myth that Canada or North America is a class-free society. Couldn't be further from the truth."
But for their part, Telecommunications Alliance, the industry association promoting the new area code, is hoping to disconnect any social stigma.
Anyone getting a new number in the current 519 area -- whether in Windsor or Woodstock -- could get a 226 number, spokesperson Johanne Lemay said. The area codes, she added, will likely end up mixed together here, not just in new or growing neighbourhoods.
"If someone has a 226 area code, in a few years from now, you won't be able to tell where they are," she said.
"We've run out of telephone numbers. That's plain and simple. It's an inconvenience (but) it's necessary."
For more information on the new area code, go to www.dial10.ca.
GETTING READY
Starting in October 2006, a new area code -- 226 -- will be gradually introduced. Here's how to prepare:
Now
- Reprogram your telephone and communications equipment to comply with 10-digit dialing.
June 17, 2006
- Start using 10-digit dialing for all local communications.
- If you dial only seven digits, before you are connected, you will hear a recorded message reminding you to dial all 10 digits the next time. This message may disrupt data transmission (Internet, faxes, etc.).
Oct. 14, 2006
- 10-digit local dialing is mandatory.
- The new 226 area code will be gradually introduced once all numbers in the 519 code have been completely exhausted.
Sun, November 20, 2005
You'll be dialing more numbers next year when you phone sleepy suburbanites, country folk or downtown-dwelling yuppies.
And it's possible you'll be making those very same class assumptions when you do.
When a second area code is brought into Southwestern Ontario's 519 zone next year, it could do more than add three extra digits to every phone call.
A pop-culture expert warns it may connect the region to a new level of class competition -- the 519s against the 226s.
Thanks to the exploding popularity of cellphones, the 519 area code has run out of seven-digit numbers, making the 226 prefix necessary.
All calls, including local calls, will require 10-digit dialing starting next summer.
But beyond simple inconvenience, the conjoined area codes may also cause broad social complications.
"It's another form of inclusion or exclusion," said Tim Blackmore, a pop culture professor at the University of Western Ontario.
"You can refer to a whole band of people by referring to . . . numbers on the dial, making assumptions on who are members of the community. That's a worrisome thing."
To Blackmore, the concern is simple: A 519 or 226 number could denote broad generalizations -- socio-economic, for example -- about the person who holds it.
In Toronto, the area-code distinction between the 416, 905 and newest 647 zones carries some social weight, he said.
The 647ers, interspersed with 416ers, are the area newcomers; both see 905ers as suburban sleepwalkers, while 905ers think of their counterparts as career-driven yuppies.
In Vancouver, the introduction of a second area code in the mid-1990s also sparked a strong community reaction, said Blackmore, who lived there at the time.
"It encourages people to think about groups in an abstract way that doesn't bear any resemblance to reality," he said. "It (potentially) indicates a newer community as opposed to an older community.
"We hold a myth that Canada or North America is a class-free society. Couldn't be further from the truth."
But for their part, Telecommunications Alliance, the industry association promoting the new area code, is hoping to disconnect any social stigma.
Anyone getting a new number in the current 519 area -- whether in Windsor or Woodstock -- could get a 226 number, spokesperson Johanne Lemay said. The area codes, she added, will likely end up mixed together here, not just in new or growing neighbourhoods.
"If someone has a 226 area code, in a few years from now, you won't be able to tell where they are," she said.
"We've run out of telephone numbers. That's plain and simple. It's an inconvenience (but) it's necessary."
For more information on the new area code, go to www.dial10.ca.
GETTING READY
Starting in October 2006, a new area code -- 226 -- will be gradually introduced. Here's how to prepare:
Now
- Reprogram your telephone and communications equipment to comply with 10-digit dialing.
June 17, 2006
- Start using 10-digit dialing for all local communications.
- If you dial only seven digits, before you are connected, you will hear a recorded message reminding you to dial all 10 digits the next time. This message may disrupt data transmission (Internet, faxes, etc.).
Oct. 14, 2006
- 10-digit local dialing is mandatory.
- The new 226 area code will be gradually introduced once all numbers in the 519 code have been completely exhausted.