Cord Cutters No More.. Cells are Just a Better Sell

The year is 2024, and a grandfather and his granddaughter are rummaging through old boxes that he’s kept stored away in the attic. The conversation goes something like this:

Child: Grandpa, what’s this big funny-looking thing with the wire sticking out of it?

Grandpa: Oh, that thing? That’s a telephone, honey.

Child: A telewhat?!

Grandpa: (laughing) A telephone. Everyone used to have them in their houses and in their offices. They were plugged into a wall, and you see that piece laying down there next to it. That’s what you used to hold talk into. Your voice would go through the coiled up wire, into the big box, and then through the lines to the person you were talking to.

Child: But if it was plugged into the wall, you couldn’t go anywhere and you’d have to talk in one spot.

Grandpa: That’s right.

Child: That’s silly! It’s a good thing we got rid of those things a long time ago.

The day’s coming soon when the POT  (plain old telephone) goes to pot, and joins the ranks of 45 records and typewriters as ancient relics, unrecognized by members of the younger generation. Statistics certainly show we’re on the way. In a report recently released by the National Center for Health Statistics, the NCHS indicates that roughly 16% of American households are wireless-only. That’s up from just 5% four years ago, and about 10.5% two years ago. And if you’re wondering how many ‘cord-free’ folks there are to come, another 13% of Americans say they are “practically” wireless, which means they have a landline but use their wireless devices for almost all of their calls.

I can appreciate the numbers. I have four children ranging in age from 25 to 18, and the two out on their own don’t have a landline, and don’t know why they’d ever get one. Their two younger sisters are in the same boat. I’m sure they’re like millions of young Americans who grew up with cell phones and have them deeply ingrained in their lifestyle. They’re not cord cutters, because they never had a cord in the first place, and as they become older there’s no doubt the number of wireless-only households in the US will continue to grow.