Cutting the cord

Photo By Jack Haley

Ean Miller, a Sales Associate at The PC & Wireless Shop in Canandaigua puts back a cell phone at the store. One statistic is that 30-percent of people have gotten rid fo their old landlines to just having a cell phone.

 

More and more people are relying solely on cell phones for their communication needs, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC collects phone-use data to insure its national health surveys effectively target appropriate survey groups. In the latest survey, the agency gathered information form 21,375 households consisting of more than 40,000 adults and nearly 15,000 children.

About a quarter of American homes reported having only wireless telephones, an increase of 1.8 percent since early 2009. An additional 14.9 percent of homes had a landline but received all or almost all calls on wireless phones.

The study also found a generation gap when it comes to landline usage: Younger people are more likely to only have wireless phones. Men were also more likely to just rely on wireless phones.

Eugene Fram, professor emeritus of marketing at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said he sees the results as the beginning of the end of the landline. And convenience isn’t the only factor, Fram said, citing the sheer amount of things people can do with today’s so-called “smart phones,” such as the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry.

“Cell phones are not just a way to call home anymore, they are a way to gather information, settle arguments and read newspapers,” he said.

As with other emerging technologies, young people are often the early adopters, Fram said. A similar scenario took place with the use of ATMs, he said.

“ATM machines took 10 years to become well established,” Fram said. “From there, ATM use climbed steadily through the age groups.”

Ben Carpenter, operations manager of the PC & Wireless Shop in Canandaigua, said he sees more people of all age groups ditching landlines, but for economic reasons.

“Typically, it’s a money issue,” Carpenter said. “Why pay twice for the same thing?”

He added that many people, even retirees, are more mobile today and they enjoy the convenience of cell phones. Younger people, who are used to just using their cell phones, are more likely to forego landlines, he said, but he said more middle-aged and older cutomers are cutting the cord.

“The middle-aged people, who already have an established landline, they’re the ones who are trying to save some money,” Carpenter said.

Area residents, like 22-year-old Amanda Falzone of Greece, said she uses only a cell phone and would not think to use anything else.

“Landlines are ridiculous now, there’s no need for them,” Falzone said.

Jason Caster, 35, of Geneva, said he would like to get rid of his landline, but he relies on it for Internet access.

“We do most of our talking on our cell phones,” Caster said.