In the wireless age, an increasing number of young people are becoming totally dependant on the mobile phone to satisfy their telecommunications requirements, according to The Yankee Group.
In a US survey, the research firm found that cord cutters, namely those people who have replaced their landline phones with wireless, made up 12% of 18 to 24 year old respondents. By contrast, less than 4% of adult respondents over 24 years of age had foresaken their landline.
Signs are that wireless handsets will become the primary means of communication for 18 to 24 year olds with a further 28% planning to cut the cord over the next five years.
“The mobile phone has become the essential means of communications, making the landline phone a supplemental and increasingly non-essential item, particularly among young adults and college students who are often not home and who frequently change address,” said Linda Barrabee, a senior analyst at The Yankee Group. “Young adults are leading this movement because they seek to stay connected and are more open to changing traditional communications habits.”
