Over an eighth of US households are totally mobile
by Chris Ziegler 
posted Dec 12th 2007 at 10:22AM
As long as we continue to not drop dead from the use of cellphones in our daily lives, the move away from landlines seems totally inevitable for obvious reasons: convenience, portability, having a single point of contact, the list goes on. The Center for Disease Control's National Health Interview Survey validates that Americans feel the same way, showing an upward tick in the number of homes that have gone exclusively mobile (a weird survey to be fleshing out such fascinating stats on the wireless industry, but whatevs). Overall, 13.9 percent said they've ditched the landlines, but the real story seems to be in the breakdowns; 28 percent of renters were mobile-only compared to just 6.7 percent of homeowners. The 25 to 29 year old age bracket was the most likely to rely solely on their cellphones, with 18 to 24 coming in second -- probably because they're still living under their old-skool parents' roofs, we'd imagine. Homes under the poverty level were also more likely to go strictly with their mobiles, and finally -- here's the CDC's health tie-in -- mobile folks were far more likely to be binge drinkers, smokers, and lack health insurance, though they were also more likely to work out in their spare hours. Now if you'll excuse us, we've gotta go hit the treadmill.
Filed under: Studies
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim @ Dec 12th 2007 11:23AM
I find myself wanting to get rid of my home phone but with these recent ice storms in Oklahoma, I am glad i still have my landline, because i couldn't charge my cell phone with all the power outages..I bet you some people will think twice about going strictly cellular
Andrew @ Dec 13th 2007 8:43AM
You can buy wind up chargers for cell phones and such. I personally like to keep a UPS available that I can use for small items. Even a small UPS, given the task of keeping a cell phone charged, could probably do it for weeks. I do see what you mean though, for most people it would be a problem, just mentioning that there are ways around it that people just need to be aware of. Go find a wind up charger and toss it in your survival kit.
Oh, and this poll fits me like a glove. I'm 23, renter, and I don't have a landline, only my mobile.
elgee02 @ Dec 12th 2007 1:27PM
Count me in with those without landlines.
Goity @ Dec 12th 2007 1:46PM
Is an 8th of US households being mobile actually to do with mobile phones, or is it just because all of their houses have wheels?
Sam Fisher @ Dec 12th 2007 3:23PM
Same question as Goity...
Big Sam @ Dec 12th 2007 11:54PM
I haven't had a land line in 4 years.