Teens view cell phones as essential
Teen panel at CTIA Fall 2008
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CBS Interactive)SAN FRANCISCO - Cell phones have become almost as important to American teens as the clothes they wear, according to a nationwide survey of teenagers released last week.
The wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive surveyed some 2,000 teens across the country and learned that teens feel that cell phones have become a vital part of their identities. They also believe that they can gauge a peer's popularity or status by the phone he or she uses.
Findings of the survey were presented on Friday at the CTIA Fall 2008 trade show in San Francisco. Trip Hawkins, CEO of Digital Chocolate, a mobile games publisher, moderated a panel with seven teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 18 years old.
Adolescents represent an important demographic for cell phone makers and mobile operators as cell phones have become an integral part of teens' lives. About four out of every five teens carry a cell phone. This is up from 40 percent of teens owning a cell phone in 2004. And almost half of the teens surveyed today say that having a cell phone is "key" to their social lives.
"Leaving home without my phone almost feels like leaving the house naked," said Brenna, 17, who participated in the panel.
Another recent survey conducted by Nielsen revealed that kids are getting cell phones even before they hit their teens. Nearly half of kids age 8 to 12 years old own cell phones in the U.S, according to the Nielsen report. And on average kids get their first cell phone between the ages of 10 and 11 years old.
While many teens view having a cell phone as important for practical things like getting a ride or for safety reasons, many believe it also says a lot about them as people. According to the survey, about 28 percent of all teens and 34 percent of kids 13 to 15 years old said that having the latest cool cell phone is absolutely essential. A mother of a 14-year old boy on the teen panel said the social pressure to have a "cool" phone is intense.
"Marcus has told me that he is embarrassed for his friends to see his phone," Deundra, Marcus's mother, said on the sidelines after the panel discussion had ended. "I've literally had to pull the car over to have a conversation about why he would feel this way. We've had many talks about the true importance and value of things."
Most of the teens on the panel agreed that Apple's iPhone is the coolest phone on the market. But none of them owned one, largely because the devices are too expensive and so is the monthly service fee from AT&T.
Jaimie, 17, appeared on a panel Friday at CTIA Fall 2008 to discuss teen cell phone use. A CTIA survey found teens text message at least as much as they talk on cell phones.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CBS Interactive)Consistent with the findings of the survey, the teens on the panel said they text message as much as or more than they talk on the phone. And 42 percent of those surveyed say they could text blindfolded.
About a third of teens surveyed say they regularly play games on their phones and about 20 percent of them use their phones for social networking. The teens on the panel said they would be more willing to play games or surf the mobile Web, if those were no-cost activities.
About 59 percent of teens surveyed said they would be willing to provide personal information to wireless operators to receive targeted text messages. And roughly 40 percent of teens said they don't mind watching advertising if cell phone service is free.
The teens on the CTIA panel agreed with the results.
"We definitely like free," Brenna said.
But there are some services that some teens aren't too keen on. Roughly 36 percent of teens in the survey said they don't like buddy-tracking features that reveal their physical location to others. The teens on the panel also complained about poor battery life. Dean, 14, said he'd like phone manufacturers develop solar-powered phones.
"If they can do it for calculators, they should be able to do it for phones," he said.
According to the survey, teens also say they want phones that are waterproof and shockproof, are made of flexible materials that can bend, and have artificial intelligence that will provide answers to questions.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie.
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I'd personally rather see a trend towards carrying ultra-portables in backpacks than for kids to become more attached to phones. Being able to do something well on a phone doesn't help in many fields, whereas being able to do well on a computer does wonders in plenty of fields.
How about their belief that a cell phone is essential ... "Leaving home without my phone almost feels like leaving the house naked," ... will they appreciate it as much when they enter the work force and are being hounded 24 hrs a day by their place of business on their PDA, cell phone or pager???
And who ever thought they'd see the day when "peer pressure" involved a cell phone?
And yeah, none of us can afford the iPhone, and most of my peers don't want them because AT&T sucks.
Yes, parenting actually takes some time. And some effort. And some logistical planning. So does having a social life when you are 15. The cellphone has eliminated the need for that, and as a result kids "feel naked" when they don't have that social leash connected to themselves at all times.
So, forgive me if my kids feel naked. $100/month so that my kids won't develop planning skills or be responsible for himself doesn't seem like money well-spent.
Our top story tonight: CNET News has discovered that it CAN state the obvious and turn it into news. This is a shocking, although expected, discovery. We'll be right back after this message from Captain Obvious.
> "If they can do it for calculators, they should be able to do it for phones," he said.
A phone uses somewhere around 200-400 times as much power as a calculator. If you increased the size of the solar panel to 400x what it is on the calculator, I think you probably *could* power a phone. But it would be a big phone!
This is really embarrassing.
Maybe what the world needs is an iListen ... that could be solar-powered.
And obviously, some people need artificial intelligence, having none of their own. "Beam me up, Scotty -- there's no intelligent life here."
I think cellphones should be replaced, or we should be able to get a new one if it's broken or has something that we can't fix on it. Like my upstage, i have to get a new phone because since it's dual sided i can't replace the battery, my battery wallet just broke down on me while i was on the subway using it, and the software won't let me update the firmware and the sprint store said they couldn't do it either, so my phone has to be turned on and off when i try to call and someone calls me while my phone is trying to call. it freezes up. That is what you consider needing replacements, or a new phone.