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UNDERSTANDING THE 'GENERATION WIRELESS' DEMOGRAPHIC

The Nearly Bionic Relationship of Teenagers and Their Cellphones

LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) - A majority - 57% - of teens aged 13-17 now have a cellphone, but that’s far below the 80% of adults 18-plus who own a phone. Still, for a glimpse of the future, look no further than Generation Wireless.

Cellphone users aged 13-17 are connected to their phones by ear, eye and touch like no other age group. They are far more likely than other demographic groups to use a broad range of cellphone data services, and they will be first in line to try emerging offerings like cellphone TV.

'Crazy for mobile'
“They’re crazy for mobile,” said Mark Donovan, VP-senior analyst with M:Metrics, a research firm that tracks wireless content and applications. “They see [a phone] as this little digital communicator that they can take with them wherever they go.” Their young-adult peers - aged 18-24 - are more likely than younger teens to snap cellphone pictures and buy ringtones, according to M:Metrics data. But for most wireless content and features, young users are the biggest enthusiasts.

Generation Wireless has been a digital demo from birth, growing up after the dawn of cellular (the first U.S. service went live in 1983) and with the Internet (the first major Web browser debuted in 1993).

Rite of passage
Getting a cellphone is a rite of passage for teens. Just 12% of children aged 8-12 have a wireless phone, but that jumps to nearly half - 49% - for ages 13-15, according to a Harris Interactive youth survey last year. By ages 18-21, cellphone penetration (81%) is in line with the average for all adults (80%).

The top reason teens cite for getting a cellphone is safety, according to Telephia, a market research firm. That’s not surprising: Parents decide when their children go wireless. “Parents love kids to have mobile phones,” said Glen LeBlanc, research director for wireless services at NPD Group. “It’s an electronic leash.”

Parents pick their children’s wireless service in about two-thirds (68%) of cases, Telephia said. Family plans are the standard; 62% of teens aged 13-17 are on a family plan for wireless, according to NPD’s Mobile Consumer Track. NPD said another 15% of teens use a prepaid phone - such as TracFone, Virgin, Boost or T-Mobile To Go - that effectively caps their use.

Parents foot the bill
Most of the time, mom and dad foot the bill for wireless. That gives parents more reason to set limits on data features, such as text messaging, which carry tolls. “I have to believe that in households across the nation, there are ongoing negotiations about what’s appropriate to do with your cellphone,” said M:Metrics’ Mr. Donovan.

But there’s no denying that the biggest users of premium wireless features - messaging, game downloads, photo services, sports information, entertainment news - are young consumers having fun at someone else’s expense. Among children aged 13-17 - the heaviest overall users of such services - just 18% pay for their cell service, said Mr. LeBlanc. Among the second heaviest users - 18-24 - 38% pay the bills.

Teens aged 13-17 are three times as likely as the average cellphone owner to use their phones to access shopping guides and content from men’s and women’s magazines, according to M:Metrics. They use phone features to get restaurant and movie info at more than twice the national average.

Interest in live TV
Higher bills could be ahead as young cellphone users show the most interest in emerging services. For those aged 13-17, about 17% say they are somewhat or very likely to subscribe to a live TV service, according to M:Metrics; 13.4% of cell users aged 18-24 expect to do so. Interest falls sharply for older age groups.

Will young consumers pull back from wireless when they have to pay? Not likely. Cellphones are central to a generation that stays connected at all times to friends, family and the world. “It’s going to be amazing to watch these people grow up,” said Mr. Donovan. “It’s going to be a mix of ruling the world and playing videogames.” Not necessarily in that order.

By Bradley Johnson Mailed 2006-05-02

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