Pew Study Says Americans Love Cell Phones More than Landlines

Americans reported their affinity for their mobile phones is greater than 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 edged out the 40 percent of people who said it would be hard to give up a landline phone.

Pew notes that 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.

Marketers engaging in mobile advertising campaigns, including local mobile search and mobile-based video, should be pleased by these data as they affirm the growth of the mobile channel as a marketing medium. As mobile handset penetration increases in the US, consumers will undoubtedly prefer mobile-based marketing initiatives that are less intrusive, protect their privacy, and afford them incentives to solicit local merchants via mobile coupons. Pew's study confirms that consumers are heading in this direction more quickly than might have been expected.