more and more people are ditching landlines in favor of mobile-only lifestyles. We’re among them. It makes little sense to us to pay for two phone lines when our usage only warrants one line. And when you’re choosing between landline and cell phone, well, it’s pretty darn obvious in our humble opinion. The number now is between 10 and 13 percent that don’t have landlines, and given recent figures, that number is likely going up — fast. What tells us the most is that between 25 and 30 percent of post-college adults — roughly ages 23 to 30 and change — have ditched the landline. This is significant because they are the future. They’re the ones who, in their 40s and 50s, will sculpt the economy and play a large role in societal relationships. If they’re going cell-only, they’ll likely have many followers. A more powerful number: 54 percent of adults living with unrelated roommates are cell-only. Most of these people are going to eventually get married and start families, and they’ll take this habit of having no landline with them. This is compared to 6.1 percent rate of cell-only users in the age 45-64 demographic, and 2 percent in 64 and older. So the cell phone only movement is on the rise. We don’t see it slowing down with the newer generation, either. Staying with cell phones only not only means being able to be reached through one number, but it means a lower phone bill, too, since you’re paying for one line instead of two. Even if you have to subscribe to a more expensive plan — or purchase more minutes in the case of prepaid — it still works out economically. As we’ve mentioned before, this does not come without issue. Pollsters are finding it harder and harder to attain accurate samples because they are not permitted to call cell phones — and if they are, they’re normally greeted with a hang-up, since no one wants to pay to talk to a pollster. And until GPS units are standard in phones, 911 operators will continue to find difficulty in locating callers. So is this a problem going forward, or just standard evolution of technology. We think the latter, but we’re sure you’ll hear about how big a problem it is in the near future. Remember, the 2008 elections are closer than you think. [Winston-Salem Journal]]>
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