ANN ARBOR, Mich.-A new survey confirms what has become painfully obvious in society: Americans have a love-hate relationship with cell phones.
University of Michigan preliminary data found that while more than 80 percent of wireless subscribers report mobile phones have improved their quality of life, 60 percent of cell-phone consumers complain public use of the devices disturbs or irritates them.
“These findings suggest that Americans have mixed feelings about cell-phone use, which has become an almost inescapable part of contemporary life,” said Michael Traugott, U-M communications studies expert and senior research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Research.
Forty-two percent of the nationally representative sample of 752 Americans age 18 and older told Michigan researchers there should be a law prohibiting people from talking on cell phones in public spaces, such as museums, movies or restaurants.
More than 80 percent said cell phones are a major safety hazard when used while driving, and almost 90 percent said a police officer should indicate on accident reports whether drivers were using cell phones at the time of crashes.
Only 30 percent agreed or strongly agreed that people should be able to be reached any time or any place, according to the survey.
The first of an annual series of studies designed to explore public attitudes toward information technology in the United States, the survey was funded by a grant from the Constance F. and Arnold C. Pohs Endowment at the University of Michigan. Pohs once headed a cellular carrier company based in Denver.
Cell-phone subscribers in the survey raised concerns about privacy.
Sixty-four percent of those surveyed were somewhat or very concerned that using cell phones made them vulnerable to the theft of Social Security, bank account and other personal identification numbers, said Traugott. By comparison, he added, 80 percent of those surveyed were equally concerned about such identity theft over the Internet.
The survey also traced patterns of technology ownership and access in the United States, including cell phones, computers, personal digital assistants, VCRs, digital video players and recorders, and Internet access at home. One in nine Americans (11 percent of those surveyed) said they had none of the devices or access, while one in five (19 percent) had four or five, according to the school.
