Study: Cell Phone Now Most Valuable Communication Device

For the first time, Americans reported their love for their mobile phones trumped both their feelings for television and landline phones, according to a survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said it would be hard to give up their cell phone, more than the 43 percent who felt it would be difficult to give up television use. And it also beat out the 40 percent of people who said it would be hard to give up a landline phone.

This is the first year in which the cell phone rated highest in this annual survey of technology use. In 2005 for instance, only 38 percent of people said it would be hard to give up their cell phones, compared with 47 percent of respondents who said the same thing about their television and 63 percent of people who felt that way about their landline phones.

The survey underscores the dependence people have on their cell phones. The study found that 58 percent of adult Americans have used a cell phone or personal digital assistant to do at least one of ten mobile non-voice data activities, such as texting, emailing, taking a picture, looking for maps or directions, or recording video.

Overall, 75 percent of the adult respondents said they had a cell phone. Among the respondents, 31 percent said they sent or received a text message in a typical day while 15 percent said they shot a picture on a regular day. About 8 percent of respondents said they played a game daily. Eight percent said they also sent or received e-mail with their phone on a typical day.

(March 4, 2008)