What percentage of 18 to 29 year olds have land phones?

[genius]

The polls of this age group look bad and our side is countering with the theory that many don't have land phones. Are the non-land phone owners in the majority or minority of this age group?

[StopTheMorans]

1. speaking from the perspective of a 25 year old in Boston

I can safely say that only 1 of my friends (and yes, to pre-empt the joke, I have many friends:) even has a land-line, and all of my other friends find that extremely strange. It has to be even more pronounced with people younger than myself (I know that my 21 year old brother and his friends all have cell phones).

[Papa]

2. i don't have statistics, but I can tell you in my job at LEAST %50 in that

age bracket that call in are on a cell phone. It's a very high number, especially college students. If you are a student it's more like %80

[cheezus]

5. re: college students

if they have a landline it's generally provided by the university and not listed/telemarketed

the only reason I have a landline is cuz we're in a university apt and we have to have phone service to get the dsl

[Goldmund]

3. I'm 29 --

and I don't have a land line. Most of my friends don't have one either.

[benburch]

4. If it were not for DSL, I'd ditch my landline too.

And I'm 46...

[cheezus]

6. you probably can

i've noticed when shopping around for dsl again that the voice line requirement is no longer there -- there's just a discount on dsl (like five bucks) when you also buy voice

[0007]

7. More than you think!

[nonconformist]

8. My 19 yr old sister and all her friends have cell phones

Her friends range in age from 19-24 and I don't know any of them that have landlines. And they're all voting for Kerry in Michigan!

At 31, the ONLY reason I have a landline is because I can't get a signal at home (I live on the side of a mountain). My cell signal doesn't pick up until I'm about 1/2 a mile away from my home. I have kids in school, so I need a landline. Otherwise, I'd have dropped it long ago.

Plus, I have caller ID and I don't answer Unavailable calls. I have yet to be called for a poll - that I know of anyway.

[demwing]

9. Some Rough numbers

thanks to a LookSmart article:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4021/is_2001_Dec_1/ai_80408796


Although cell phone penetration in the U.S. seems ubiquitous, just over half of adults today (53 percent) own or use a wireless phone. Not surprisingly, the bulk of cell phone users are wealthy (80 percent have incomes of $75,000 or more) and young (63 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds own a cell phone). With such high penetration among these early adopters, future growth lies in tapping new demographics, say Mintel analysts. For instance, a full 70 percent of Americans with incomes under $25,000 do not own a wireless phone. And now that the cell phone's image has shifted from a toy for the wealthy to a practical tool for everyone, lower-income consumers may be enticed to buy - for the right price.

<snip>

Providers may also want to pay closer attention to the teen market. With 56 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds already gabbing on cell phones, future growth is all about hooking the next generation at an even younger age.

[popstalin]

10. Where I work

Almost no one has land lines, it's all cell. We have 150+ people in our building and I can safely say those that are voting will be voting Kerry (I work at a non-profit).

[newyawker99]

25. Hi popstalin!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[demwing]

11. And According to the Census...

there are apx 35 million Americans between the age of 18 - 24. If only 50% of those voters show up at the poll, and 56% of those use cell phones, we're looking at nearly 10 million voters - a bit less than 10% of the total 2000 vote.

Thats a big chunk of people not getting polled.

[politicat]

24. That article's 3 years old and there have been some changes....

Looking at my client records from last year, of 171 clients, 40% of those who made less than $30,000 a year had a cell phone as their only phone. I called a couple - most are using pre-paid phones because at the minimum rate, a pre-paid cell phone costs about $100 a year and a land line runs about $180.

I also called a friend who works at the homeless shelter locally - again, lots of the homeless are using pre-paid cells because they're cheap and portable.

I think the polls are missing a huge percentage of the poorer voters, just based on these numbers.

I also know they're missing lots of GenX and Y types.... I don't know anyone who has a landline anymore.

Pcat

[demwing]

26. You're right. Those numbers are a lowball estimate!

Thanks for the "head's up" :)

[Longhorn]

12. I have four children, ages 20 to 25.

The 20-year-old Marine has a land phone -- in Japan. Doubt he's getting polled there!

The other three live in three apartments with three cell phones and no land phones.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

21. I think one of the main reason that people in this

age group only have cell phones and not landlines is because they move around a lot. Most of them only rent, they don't own a house. With a cell phone they can keep the same number and move around. this can't be done with a landline.

[onehandle]

13. An aside: My wife and I have a land line, but only for our alarm...

...and emergencies. We come home. Erase the occasional message from a solicitor. And never, ever answer that phone.

We use our cell phones for voice, and our cable modem for Internet.

I know others who do the same in my office of mostly 30-50+ year old professionals.

Polling is crap.

[Sunny_Sunshine]

14. 3 adult offspring

24 yo - cell phone - no land line
22 yo - cell phone - no land line
other 22 yo - lives in dorm - phone not in her name - would she get polled? She called last night to ask about notarizing her absentee ballet and said it gave her great pleasure to mark next to Kerry's name.

[Snivi Yllom]

15. acoording to Zogby * is winning the 18-29 vote (47%-38%)

The theory that the 18-29 year olds are being undersurveyed in polls would benefit * according to this:

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=882

Bush seems to be making gains among 18-29 year olds. He now leads among them -- something that has not happened all year until now. I am watching closely to see if that continues. This group also has 9% undecided, which is high for this year. Neither Bush's gains nor the high undecideds are good news for Kerry

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

22. I think this report is baloney.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

16. I'm 25. Husband is 27.

We only have a cell phone. I have a friend who is 24 who only has a cell phone too. There's no real point to having both, just an extra phone bill. We don't have enough money to pay for two phone bills each month.

[hippiegranny]

17. The three 20 somethings in my office

all have cell phones. Only one of them also has a land line. Both my daughters have both cell and land lines, but haven't been polled. My partner's son only has a cell, no land line.

[rndmprsn]

18. 31 and have had only a mobile for about two years.

i travel alot and have broadband connection @ home...no need for a land line.

[sbj405]

19. I'm 28, have a landline, but would never think of answering it.

I have a landline, mostly b/c I have DSL. I also have caller id and don't pick up random calls or any really. I suspect caller id is as much responsible as lack of landlines.

[endnote]

20. I have both

But nobody has ever called me for a political poll... It could be that I'm in MA, so solid D here...

[MissouriTeacher]

23. Don't forget Caller ID.

My wife and I (both in our 20s) have only had caller ID for around a year now. I don't answer it if I don't recognize the name.

I'm sure alot of people see 'So-and-so Research Group' on the phone and don't bother picking it up. (Unless they're geeks like me who actually like being polled.)

[GreenPoet64]

27. I have two teens--both have cell phones & are never home !