According to a recent study, 11% of US adults now use only a mobile phone to place phone calls and 17% only use mobile and the Internet (VoIP).
So, where is this heading? If you look at the 18-to-29-year-old group, a full third of them use only a mobile phone or the Internet for their calls. One telling statistic is that mobile-phone-only users tended to be male and better educated, but less affluent than the general adult population.
In addition to phone calls, there are other factors driving mobile use, such as text messaging, picture sharing, watching video, and listening to music.
Learn more at eMarketer.
That’s me!
I only have one phone… and it’s my cell phone.
( Now, if only the guys programming MLS would figure that out, and have a way to specify a phone as either a home phone or a mobile… and then specify whose mobile it is… yeah, I know… a little off-topic… but this is the only place I have to vent. The MLS crew is not all that responsive. 🙂 )
The interesting thing is how far behind the US is in this transition, compared to many other developed countries.
I’m a young, semi-educated, semi-affluent male who hates cell phones. I only acquired one a little over a year ago, and hardly ever use it. I have never sent a text message, and can’t imagine being interested in picture sharing or watching video on a 1-inch screen. I prefer typing on a regular-sized keyboard, and looking at a big screen. And being available on my own terms. I check email often enough that it’s not hard to find me for something important.
I agree on MLS comment. My wife and I exclusively use cell phones for business and personal use. I think the MLS should have a section for multiple phone numbers and then either way you slice it, it would help. Example:
1) Husband – cell; Wife – cell
2) Family – landline; Family – cell
What are your personal views on keeping a land line for emergencies? We rarely use our home phone and have discussed disconnecting it. However we have an old rotary mechanical phone (along with the usual cordless and answering machine phones) that works even when the power goes out.
I’d more easily switch completely but there are a few things cells don’t do well like screening calls over the speaker, so I can decide if I want to get up and answer it, (Bishop yes, sales no) or show caller ID on my TV like my current home phone does.