‘‘It’s all about the cool factor. It has a sort of approach that young people like- fashion is so important to this age group.’’¹This quote summarizes that teens often want cell phones as a desire for popularity. This statement also stresses that aesthetics are extremely meaningful to this unique age group between the ages of ten and twenty-four. Cell phones are not a necessity for teens this age.

Therefore, it is no surprise that the cell phone market is so appealing to teens. With billboards pasted everywhere, commercial, magazine, movie theatre advertisements, teens can’t help but be lured into wanting cell phones. Not to mention that these phones can sometimes have internet, web cams, text messaging, digital cameras and many little features that would entice youth to be interested. Usually, phone companies make special ring tones that are sometimes the tune of popular songs on the radio. They come in every shape, size and colour. There are endless possibilities in ways that cash can be sunk into these money traps.

How are these companies so successful? With cell phone stores located at just about every nearby mall, they are easily accessible from almost any neighborhood. They are made extremely affordable to fit the budget of any teen.

For most teens, it is not uncommon to go to the mall with friends. Here, there is a lot of exposure to cell phone stores and other people using cell phones. These are just more ways that these teens feel the pressure to purchase a cell phone or perhaps buy special lights or faceplates from the booths outside the stores. As much as cell phones are not necessary at this age, emergency phone systems are sometimes a better method. This would mean that if the person was not with parental supervision, an emergency phone could be brought along with them, incase the situation arises where help is needed. Several years back, in a British mall, a survey was conducted of teens that were with their parents at the time but had an emergency phone system. The majority of them had these cell phones with them and they were all on! Why would you need an emergency phone, and why would it need to be on if you only needed it when you weren’t under parental supervision?

So it is now clear what the media does to attract today’s youth into the cell phone craze. But how is the media able to so easily able to attract teens into this sudden trend?

As much as these cell phones are an amazing piece of technology, they are not an essential item for all teens to walk around with. Especially when they are often purchased as a desire to be more classified as a cool person. This is more than often the reason that they are purchased in the first place! The only question is, will the cell phone craze ever die down?

Footnotes:

Emma Ross ‘‘Cell Phone Chic’’ November 3rd , 2001.
<http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/livings/Dialynews/teensmokingcellphone001103.html>
(May, 6th, 2003.)