Technology has changed public sidewalks

Remember the corner phone booth?

I can’t remember the last time I saw one much less the last time I used one.   As mobile phones have become commonplace, the once ubiquitous pay phone has disappeared.

Teenagers have previously lagged behind adults in their ownership of cell phones, but several years of survey data collected by the Pew Internet & American Life Project show that those ages 12-17 are closing the gap in cell phone ownership. The Project first began surveying teenagers about their mobile phones in its 2004 Teens and Parents project when a survey showed that 45% of teens had a cell phone. Since that time, mobile phone use has climbed steadily among teens ages 12 to 17 – to 63% in fall of 2006 to 71% in early 2008.

In comparison, 77% of all adults (and 88% of parents) had a cell phone or other mobile device at a similar point in 2008. Cell phone ownership among adults has since risen to 85%, based on the results of our most recent tracking survey of adults conducted in April 2009. The Project is currently conducting a survey of teens and their parents and will be releasing the new figures in early 2010.  (Source: Pew Internet)

Mobile phones are everywhere and the pay phone is not.  Not a bad thing if you are in the 85% of adults that has one but it probably sucks if you don’t have a mobile.

Today “smart phones” are becoming increasingly popular.  Before I got an iPhone in January 2008 I had the cheapest, most basic phone possible but now I can’t imagine life without it.

My poll this week asks the operating system your phone uses.  You may not know but give it a shot.

– Steve Patterson