The Internet age is causing the white pages to vanish. New York, Pennsylvania and Florida have given Verizon permission to stop distributing white pages there, while Virginia will decide the issue next week. Telephone companies argue that most consumers now check the Internet rather than flip through pages when they want to reach out and touch someone. Phone companies note that eliminating residential white pages would reduce environmental impact by using less paper and ink. The first telephone directory was issued in February 1878 – a single page that covered 50 customers in New Haven, Connecticut. A Gallup survey shows that between 2005 and 2008, the percentage of households relying on stand-alone residential white pages fell from 25% to 11%. However, the business directories are doing fine, according to the Yellow Pages Association. The industry trade group claims more half the people in the U.S. still let their fingers do the walking every month.
