Mobile American's: How mobile are we really?

In response to reading an article on eWeek's site this morning entitled 'American's Using Phones to Avoid Talking: Pew Report' I found some rather interesting percentages that actually make sense for a change.  A lot of consumer polls seem to be somewhat exaggerated when they post their findings.  This article basically points out that even though the majority of American's packing 'smart phones' aren't using them to actually talk.

According to the article, "about 90% of smart phone users use their devices for photos and texting.  Approximately 80% use their smart phones for sending pictures and video clips to other people and surfing the web."

What does this mean for "the spoken word"?  It apparently means it isn't being used as often.  Does this mean that our phones aren't actually mediums for communication anymore?  Absolutely not, because in the grand scheme of things if you take a picture and send it to your friend, that is still a means of communication.  If you are surfing the web with your phone, at some point you will probably visit some form of Social Networking site and make a post or comment of some type.  So you're still using it to communicate, just not the way people have traditionally communicated on the mobile phones (even within the last 5 years these 'cell phone norms' have drastically changed).

With everything becoming more mobile, smaller, and faster the 'connected world' is still pretty much in it's infancy.  I'm sure within less than a 5 year time span we'll be able to look back and say "Wow, how did we survive back then without ____________?" (fill in the blank).  I can't tell you how many people I hear ponder how they ever got along without their cell phones.

By the way, remember the days where the computer nerd was considered the 'anti-social outcast' who would stay in his room or basement 'playing with computers'.  And people would poke fun at him.  Well, if you look at things from outside the box a little bit, aren't we all sort of becoming "that computer kid" in some manner?

Something to ponder.
Read the entire article at: http://15ff1bbb.tinylinks.co


*And yes, I have been guilty of faking a phone call to get out of speaking with someone, aren't you guilty of the same?  lol