Economic Essentials: Cell phone Ownership Highest Among Youngest and Poorest

From indulgence to indespensable.

The cell phone is no longer an accessory. It is has become so ubiquitous, especially for those under 35, that it no longer defines who people are. Ownership transcends income levels, usually the final barrier to mass market acceptance. In effect, the youngest and poorest may be the segment most deeply penetrated - and committed.

And within the cell phone market - currently at 87% ownership levels - smartphone ownership is at 35% and climbing. Eventually there will be no distinction between the two - all cell phones will be 'smart.' But the crucial nugget of information may be that ownership of these devices will determine employability, promotions and income levels. In developing regions, access to markets and therefore to income will flow through this channel. Perhaps more so than through roads, which will become the means through which goods and services contracted for electronically are simply delivered to those who purchased them.

For the wealthy, cell and smart phones are a convenience. For everyone else, they are essential. JL

Sarah Kessler reports in Mashable:

When a twentysomething’s budget is tight, her smartphone is far from the first expense to go, suggests a new study from Nielsen. The survey of 20,000 U.S. mobile customers found that smartphone ownership skews toward the young and the wealthy — exactly as you’d expect.

What is more surprising, however, is this nugget: smartphone penetration among young people in the lowest income bracket is higher than it is among older people in the wealthiest bracket.
Among 18- to 24-year-olds, more than half of respondents who make less than $15,000 each year said they own a smartphone. This might be explained if the parents of many college-age students footing their children’s phone bills. Still, even in the next oldest, post-college age group, the percentage of those in the same income bracket who own a smartphone was a mere 13% lower.

Making less than $15,000 in a year doesn’t stop 43% of these 25- to 34-year-old mobile customers from paying for a smartphone.

Meanwhile, fewer than 20% of respondents older than 45 who make less than $15,000 said they owned a smartphone.

Older people were less likely to own smartphones than younger people in every income bracket, but it’s still telling that so many young people are making room in tight budgets for what many consider to be a luxury expense. It suggests that many young people count smartphones as a necessity.