Poor People Rely On Cellphones More

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Results from a Center for Disease Control survey called the National Health Interview have recently been released showing a strong correlation between cellphone dependency and income level. The study involved over 100,000 households and spanned three and a half years. On the surface level, the study revealed that more and more Americans are saying bye bye to their landline phones in favor of explicit use of their cellphones. Now a little over 30 percent of Americans are totally dependent on their cellphones. These states include Arkansas, Mississippi, Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas. Leading the pack amongst these ten states are Arkansas and Mississippi with 35 percent of adults only having access to a cellphone. The people in these states are increasingly giving up their landlines as a means of saving money.

Even the cellphones that they do have are usually prepaid, with a certain amount of minutes. Many people cut out their landlines because of their inability to pay two phone bills every single month, something that wealthier families have less of a struggle with. ...
... The states that had the lowest cellphone reliance were New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and South Dakota. In these states, no more than 17 percent of adults reported only having a cellphone. Both New Jersey and Rhode Island reported that 13 percent of their adults only use a cell phone. Across the nation, the number of households that use cell phones exclusively has increased. 27 percent of households don't have a landline. Arkansas increased in this percent by 15. New Jersey has only increased by 7 percent.

So you might be thinking about what this has to do with rich people and poor people. Well it just so happens that Missisippi and Arkansas are the two poorest states in the country. Mississippi is the poorest state with a 21.9 percent poverty rate. Arkansas isn't too far behind with a poverty rate of 18.8. If you look at the poverty rate of New Jersey and Rhode Island, those numbers are on the other end of the spectrum. Other connections included people that rented where they lived and their age. Younger people and renters tended to do without a landline. This is completely understandable as renters don't necessarily feel a sense of permanence, which is something that a landline represents. Most young adults in this economy are struggling to find decent paying jobs and therefore have to sacrifice in order to survive and get by.

This survey reveals something that many people didn't imagine. Most people would assume that people that are more into new technology, who happen to be in a wealthier demographic, would be reluctant to hold on to an antiquated phone line. But this isn't the case. Even if they don't use it very much, families with more financial resources enjoy the feeling of comfort they get by having two phone communication options. Just in case they can't contact someone on their cellphone, there is assurance in knowing that the reliable landline works.

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