According to a new study from Sprint, more than 80 percent of young adults (18-34) cite their
wireless phone as their "lifeline" to others. Email, texting, apps, social-networking and price are all important purchase options.
In a tech-heavy world, relying on a wireless phone for talking,
texting, managing work calendars and monitoring Facebook has become
commonplace for young adults ages 18 to 34. More than a third (38
percent) of employed young adults who own a wireless phone strongly
agree their mobile phone is essential to managing a work/life balance,
compared to only 18 percent of their counterparts ages 55 and older.
Young adults who have purchased a wireless phone also say phone
applications, such as e-mail (23 percent), Internet browsing (31
percent), and contact/calendar management (45 percent), are the most
important features when purchasing a new phone. This is starting to
showcase the importance the younger generation places on their data
services vs. their voice experience.
"Young people are increasingly reliant on their wireless phones for
everything, and have come to expect more from their phones, especially
with their on-the-go lifestyles," said Lindsey Pollak,
a Generation Y expert. "To young adults, wireless phones are their
connection to friends, the office, their calendar, social media and
games. They want it all, but don't necessarily want to pay for it."
While young adults have even greater expectations of what their
wireless phone will do, they still remain cost-conscious of phone
plans. Nearly 90 percent who have ever purchased a wireless phone say
the price of a mobile phone plan influences their purchasing decision.
Price Plans
The price of a phone's plan is a contributing factor in their
purchasing decision for the majority of young adults (88 percent) who
have ever purchased a wireless phone.
Nearly 45 percent of adults ages 35 to 44 who have ever purchased a
wireless phone strongly agree that the price of their phone plan
influences their purchasing decision.
Use of Features
While the majority of those ages 55 and older who have ever
purchased a wireless phone (86 percent) report that ease of use is the
most important feature when purchasing a mobile phone, their younger
counterparts look to what the phone can do for them: 45 percent are
more likely to look at the ability to manage contacts and/or calendar
easily; one-third (33 percent) are more likely to expect a built-in
keyboard; and 23 percent are more likely to consider the phone's
ability to access both work and personal e-mail.
Texting
Nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of young adults who own a
wireless phone are more likely to use text messaging constantly/often
on their mobiles phones than their older counterparts (9 percent).
More than half (56 percent) of young adults who own a wireless phone
and use text messaging report they text "pretty fast," compared to 26
percent of their counterparts ages 55 and older. At the same time, 46
percent of young adults who own a wireless phone prefer to have a
QWERTY keyboard for texting, and 24 percent of those 35- to
44-years-old prefer to have a QWERTY touch screen.
More than one in four (27 percent) young adults who own a wireless
phone and have access to e-mail on it constantly/often use this
application compared to their counterparts ages 55 and older (8
percent).
Social Media
For young adults who own a wireless phone and have access to social
media sites on it, 25 percent of them use this constantly/often,
compared to only 1 percent of those 55 and older. Younger adults are
also more likely to check their social media profiles more often: A
quarter (25 percent) of those 35- to 44-years-old check their social
media profiles frequently, some of them every day.
Social media access even plays a role in purchasing a wireless
phone: 18 percent of young adults who have ever purchased a wireless
phone say that having it as a feature is most important.
This survey was conducted online June 24-26, 2009, within the United States by Harris Interactive
on behalf of Sprint among 2,025 adults ages 18 and older of whom 1,855
own a wireless phone. This online survey is not based on a probability
sample.
Sprint Everything Data plans for both individuals and families allow
consumers to select the number of voice minutes they anticipate using,
while including messaging and data services as part of the plan cost -
all at a substantial discount over competitors. Sprint's Simply
Everything plan, for example, allows customers to save $1,200 over two
years vs. comparable AT&T plans for the iPhone.
Furthermore, Sprint's Simply Everything Family plan combines unlimited
voice, data and messaging for two customers for one low price, at a
savings of more than $1,910 over two years vs. comparable plans from
AT&T and Verizon.