The south side of 10

A report from iGR Inc. released last week showed that between 50% and 70% of kids between the ages of 12 and 14 have their own cellphone and that the new battleground for carriers in attracting the youth market was shifting from those with double-digit ages to those kids stuck on the south side of 10. That’s right, carriers are having to fight for customers that not only can’t sign a contact, but have trouble coloring inside the lines and are still lucky enough to have designated nap times. And yes, I am jealous.
Now, as most who know me would attest, I’m probably not the best source on judging the proper age for kids to begin having their own cellphone-though I’m pretty sure any young boy should have a BB gun by the age of 8-but I do have a few nephews and nieces at or recently past the magical age of 10, and seeing their habits with a cellphone is funny.
Take for example my 9-year-old nephew, who has had a cellphone for more than a year. He lives in the image capital of the world, Orange County, Calif., where it seems most newborns are handed a cellphone just after the doctor slaps them on the backside, but his cellphone usage consists of playing his ringtone over and over for about 5 minutes before his interest wonders to just about anything else, like a bright light or the wind blowing. He’s not sure which button to push to answer a call. And he has no interest in playing Pac-Man on his phone since he has every gaming console at home in front of a big-screen television.
Girls, on the other hand are a different story. One of my nieces has a text-messaging addiction that sees her sending and receiving nearly 3,000 messages per month. That’s like 1 million per day, though someone might want to check my math. And from what I have seen, most of the messages are sent to a friend who is in the same room.
Regardless of usage patterns, the wireless industry is still hung up on customer growth. Just look at the attention given to subscriber numbers each quarter when the nationwide operators announce financial results.
I guess it’s inevitable that carriers will not leave any stone unturned in trying to expand their reach-even if that stone is actually a pebble.