Cellphones the key to teen cool, study says

Teens are notoriously judgmental. Wear the wrong shade of jeans, and you'll be branded L for Loser for the rest of your life. But today's teens might have it even harder: Now they have to have just the right cellphone too.

A study released today at the CTIA trade show by Harris Interactive and CTIA-the Wireless Assn., shows that teens say that after clothing, a cellphone tells the most about a person's social status or popularity. That means that having an iPhone, say, will give you more cool points than if you have hip jewelry, swanky watches or Kobe's shoes. Having the latest cellphone is "absolutely essential," according to 28% of all teens and 34% of kids 13 to 15 years old.

About 4 of every 5 teens carry cellphones, up 40% from 2004, and nearly half of them say having a cellphone is "key to my social life." They've turned into teenage mutant ninja texters: 42% of the teens surveyed said they could text while blindfolded. Surprisingly, male teens talk on their phones more than they text, while females text more than they talk.

Advertisers will be happy to know that 59% of teens would be willing to provide personal information to wireless providers so that they can receive targeted text messages, and about 40% of teens believe that mobile phones should be free and paid for by advertisers, kind of like television.

"As the first generation born into a wireless society, how [teens] use their cellphones and what they expect of these devices in the future will drive the next wave of innovation in our industry," said Steve Largent, president and chief executive of CTIA-the Wireless Assn.

So what do teens expect of these devices? If Largent's right and what teens want is what we'll see down the road, the next generation of cellphones will be shock- and waterproof and scratch free, and will be able to control appliances in the home, translate any language in seconds and talk back when we ask it questions. Oh, and it will also be able to read our brain waves, which some of us might think is creepy, but evidently teens think is cool.

Mom and Dad, sounds as if it's time to up the allowance. A multilingual cellphone that can control the blender might be pretty expensive, but you don't want your teen to be uncool, right?

-- Alana Semuels

Photo: drumsnwhistles via Flickr

Comments

[Alexandre M.B]

Hi Alana Semuels

In your text there is some true but the majority of your text is false. I am a teen and I don't need a cellphones to live and to be cool. In the first sentense there is not completele true there is not only the teen that are judgmental and they are not all judgemental. the error in the sentence is that adult are judgmental to. Exemple, if the see a group of teen they will say that they see a group of criminal.

[Pierre-William]

You wrote that article like if it was all the fault of teenagers if they now based the social status of person by his cellphone.
First of all , you generalized too much, I'm a teenager ,I don't have a cellphone and my social status is great.
Secondly, if some teenagers have cellphone, it's rarely them who pays it.
Parents play a roll in that problems. THEY pays for those cellphones .
Finaly, you show some statistics but, do you really went into school to verified and approved them ?

Next time , be less JUDGEMENTAL
Hope you'll take my comment in consideration.

Pierre-William

[Mylène A.V.]

Is this article a joke ? If it isn't you should seriously stop watching movies and television. I'm a teen, I have a cellphone (that I pay) and I'm not more popular because of that! I never texted a message and you want to know, my mom text hundreds of message each weeks !! What you wrote is totally unfair and free. Look around you; most of adults buy big cars, big houses, just to show everyone that they are better than others. Teens and kids do what they see.
So stop complaining about teens please, adults are wrose than us.

[Alexie Arsenault]

Hi Alana Semuels,

I disagree with you and what you say in your article. After reading your article, I was thinking that it was the adults who were judgmental. Everything you say is probably based on stereotypes. Yes, in American movie having an IPhone or the latest phone make you popular, but it’s not the truth. A movie is a movie and it’s make to be different than the real life. I live in Canada and the situation about the popularity is really not the same thing here than in the United State. Having a cellphone is practical to call or to text, it’s not a question of popularity or anything else.

Seriously try to talk with teens, if you want to do another article like that.

Alexie

[JJ MacDade]

I'm not ashamed to say that I'm 48 and I'll say this; adults should take a real hard look at themselves, first, before making a stereotyped comment like the one here. Teens or young adults as they prefer to be called have an identity all their own; this is by design. If I understand them correctly this group is driven by ownership & things and styles uniquely thier own. Having fun is the core root of being teen and a "right of passage" into adulthood. Young adults are very aware of the concerns around us and many do what they can to be good citizens. Who cares what kind of phone somebody has. If it's good for that person, then that all that matters. This is one adult who does repect teens or rather young adullts

[Ulia/ 21]

ok, i can see why so many teenagers are upset by this article,
I think its very stereotypical!

Im pretty sure the "study on teens" that they did was on 100 kids from a high class neighborhood that can afford such privileges, because they get whatever they ask their parents for

[Alexis B-T]

Hi Alana Semuels

I think that for your article, you should base yourself on the real world and by that i mean the cellphones are (nearly) useless in a social life. Talking with other beings is the real way to succeed in social life, not typing text messages with a cellphone (by the way i dont even know how to text). When I see one of my friends thaht has a cellphone, I'm really suprised because i never saw it! Also, the first sentence is really, allow me to say, stupid because by saying that, you automaticly say that you are yourself judgmental. Maybe you could change the sentence for " It is notorious that humans are judgmental" because in my point of view, we are all judgmental sometimes. Also, i have to say that we are a new generation so face it! We are changing the world and it seems that some adults aren't able to accept itso they criticize us. And i'm really starting to be tired (as all the teens) to be always criticized by the press and others. And my parents aren't poor either (we live in a big house, expensive neaborhood,etc). So what's the problem with your article? It's that it's twisting the reality teen in a caricatural teen. It's true that the clothing,the play that we aply, etc are important for us but not at that point. One last thing, in american movies, when the teen wants to be cool with a new cellphone or anything, he realize at the end that it makes no difference. So base yourself on the aftermovie teen rather than the beforemovie teen. Seriously, when i first read this article i said to myself: "Oh my god! Is this a joke or what??". Next time, ask CTIA trade show to do a study on real teens not "mutant ninja texters".
-It's not because we're teens we can't answer to this unfair judgment.

An angry 14 year old teen that had alot to say

[Annabelle]

Hi Alana Semuels!
Are you serious by saying that we, the teens, are notoriously judgemental??!! beacause I think that you should do some more research before saying such stupid things!! I'm a teen and I don't think that if you wear thw wrong shade of jeans you'll be branded Loser... If there's someone who would do that it's not teens... it's tha adults!! And I don't don't think EVERY teens have a cellphone because they want to be cool or things like that! it's stupid to judge us like that when you, adults, buy BMW or mercedes, buy big houses just to show to everybody that you're not poor and that you're COOL...!! So please, if you do another article in this kind then maybe you should do more research...and do not say that teens are ntoriously judgemental!!!

[Anne-Sophie]

I don't agree with your article. If you are saying that most of teenagers cannot survive without a cellphone, it's because you don't know us. You shouldn't believe everything that is said on television or in movies. Your statistics don't show real life. A lot of teenagers don't have any cellphone just because they don't need one. And yet, they are not losers. I just want to say that before saying that TEENAGERS are notoriously judgmental, maybe you will have to look at yourself before and realize how bad you discribe teenagers.

[Frédérique T .]

Hi Alana Semuels !
I don't agree with what you're saying about teenagers! Because I think the truth is the adults are more judgmental than us! Because you judge us and you don't know anything about us. Do you think we are like in movies? Of course we're Not ! It's not because a teen dosent have the ''cool'' and brand new cell phone, He's a looser and we don't talk to him! A cellphone for teenagers is only to call your friends and text! It's not a popularity question! And your point of view was very stereotypical when you wrote we are like mutant ninja texters ! And I think Adults should look at theirselfs before they judge us!

[Elliot B.]

HI,
I think your article is not complete. Your saying that teenagers have no social life because of cells phones. I'm going to saw something to you Alana Samuels, I have a cell phone and I don't use it and when my friends saw it I WASN'T COOLER. What you just said in this article is discrimination to teens. Also when you saw that teens are more judgemental than aldults IT'S A LIE the difference is that teens say what they think.

For conclusion, the article you wrote is a REAL INSULT TO ALL THE TEENS IN THE WORLD

sincerely
ELLIOT B. :(

[chuck_norris_fan_club]

To the author of this notorious judgmental article who talk about teen with patronize like if we were all a bunch no-life who try to be cool by buying expensive cellphone and if we don't have one we are the worst looser ever. If you want to know mostly of the cool at my school don't have cellphone and we have nice social life so texting like mutant ninja is completelly innapropriate (and i think it is immature to judge us like that)

Shame on you adult who buy BMW and new computer (i don't need to say why)

Shame on you adult who don't remember that they have been teen and talk about them like if they had never been like us.

Shame on you adult who make a kind of discrimination against teen.

Shame on you adult who are more judgmental than us and think that we should not be like that ( we learn with exemple of adult).

Shame on you...

ThE DoOm

[Véro T.]

Hi Alana Semuels!

I think this article need a serious reconsideration.It only concern a little part of the teenagers. Open your eyes and look around you, is all the teenagers have the latest cellphone? Certainly not.A study can't correctly represent all the population of teens and I think that the adults juge the teens too quickly and wrongly.

Please think about it !

Véro T.

[Frédérique.B]

Hello,

You shouldn't judge so easely.
Probably you only look at the teenagers who have cell phones. They're alway playing on it and sending text messages. And you're only talking about teenagers in America. Have you actually ever travelled in your life? Teens can be social without their cell phones. Stop looking at that small group and open your eyes!!!

Frédérique

[Emmanuelle D.-Tremblay]

Statistics are maybe not completely untrue, of course, but they're certainly not representing very well the overall social classes in America. If teens are texting during classes, it's would be more regarding the autority that school has over their students.
"Cool", really? A phone is usefull. That's a fact. But not for everything. That's what many teens don't understand. I'm not against the utilisation of phone by teens, but there's limits about the age, the utility and "cool" vision that kids have over accessories. They should come back to the beginning; a phone is made for call - not a must have for your social life. In this article, the autor claims that this is reality. Well, here a new thing: this is not. It just represent a minority of "popular" people who have other preoccupations than many of us do.

[brandon]

lol max said less than 20% of teens have a cell.

[Agathe L.]

I read this article and I thought that it was quite disrespectful for us, the teens. During my reading of this text, I felt a note of mean sarcasm about the way that we act and think. The comparison with "teenage mutant ninja texters" was inapropriate and it was an uncalled-for remark. In my opinion, adults are not necessarily better than we are if we talk about the fact that they also want to "look cool" and have great possessions.

I hope you understand my point of you,
thank you,

Agathe L.

[Philip]

Hi,

I write a comment on this article because I’m disappointed of your opinion on teenagers. I don’t think that you are right. Teenagers are not the way you think they are. They don’t show off when they have cell phones, they use it when they need it. Also, it’s not everywhere on the planet that everyone has cell phones. In my school, about 20% have one. Also, the teenagers don’t judge themselves with the cell phones they have, but with their personalities. You should feel bad about you wrote on teenagers. Also, look at the comments you received, what does it say to you?

At next time

[Alexandre D]

Hi !
Alana Semuels,
Your article about Cellphone the KEY TO BE Cool is not really complete. First in my friends there is only 10 or 15 who have an cellphone, and that dosen't make them more POPULAR OR COOL, it is more for what they ARE NOT what they HAVE! And what you say about 'They've turned into teenage mutant ninja texters' you really think that this is what teens have turned in, and when you say that we are notoriously judgmental, you should first look at the article you've published IT DOES discriminate the teen (by an Adult). Having the lastest generation of cellphones on the market is not obligatory, (I think that a cellphones have a lifetime around 3 or 4 years) so we don't need to chage it every 3 month.

And To Finish you sholud check all the comments you've received
Then reconcider your article

GOOD BY!

[Amandine L.]

Well, I don't feel very concerned about this article because I don't think it's completely true. I don't know about L.A. reality but it's not like that in Quebec. I'm a teenager and I don't agree with that article. Are teens so differents from adults? I believe we all have a similar way of thinking and that the teens are not so superficial. Well, not inevitably more superficial than the adults.

Hope you understand,
Amandine

[Étienne M]

Hi,
I think that your article is wrong because in my school, there is not a lot of teens that have a cellphone and the teens who have one are not cooler because of that. Second, cellphone is not the key to social life. I don't know a lot of teen that pass his time talking on his cellphone. Finally, I don't think that a lot of teen can text while blindfolded.

[Félix F.P.]

I do not think that all those affirmations said in this article are true. I am a teenager and I find that this article offended me because it contains many prejudices about us.

[Lager McFrazzelsworth]

I completely agree with everything you said. All of these commentators are exactly the type of know-it-all teens you are talking about. As a middle school teacher I have had to deal with teens texting in class and then refusing to give up their phones because they are "my life". Go Canada

i THiNK THAT WAS WACK!
iM BORN & RAiSED iN LOUiSiNA
iM A TEEN i STiLL LiVE HERE &&
EVERY WHERE U TURN AROUND SUMBODY
HAS A CELL!
YEAH i HAVE A CELL BUT THAT DSNT EFFECT MY
SOCiAL LiFE!
SO WE CAN TXT BLiNDFOLDED! THATS A SKiLL WE HAVE
&& U DONT!

[Peyton]

I think this is tottally right i am a teen and i feel out of the loop when all my friends are texting.. :( i really wish i had one!