Landline telephones and TV sets may soon become mementos of a better economic period, according to a recent survey’s findings.
The number of Americans who believe landlines and TV sets are necessities for daily life is decreasing, according to a study by Pew Research Center.
The survey asked Americans what items they believe are necessities and luxuries in life. Only 62 percent of people say landline telephones are a necessity, which dropped from 68 percent last year. The same holds true for TV sets, with 42 percent of people saying TV sets are necessary for daily life, down from 52 percent last year.
Many students, including nutrition junior Stacey Shubert, are not surprised by this trend.
“I was even thinking about canceling my cable because of [its lack of necessity],” Shubert said. “We want everything instantly, and we can go online to get it.”
Other students believe portability is to blame.
“It doesn’t surprise me that landlines aren’t a necessity because cell phones are more affordable, more used, and you can take them everywhere with you,” said Suchita Saxena, psychology junior.
University students don’t need TV sets anymore, said Pavica Sheldon, a research assistant in the Department of Social Work who recently completed a thesis on social media and its significance.
“Because of laptops, you can watch football games, videos and listen to music at the same time,” Sheldon said. “The difference is that TV is a family medium. You can watch something by yourself using a laptop, but with friends you need a TV.”
The Internet makes TV shows more accessible, Saxena said.
“Shows are on sites like Hulu now,” Saxena said. “I can catch them when I miss them on TV.”
Applications like Skype and Google Voice are better alternatives than landline phones, Saxena said.
“Skype was useful when my boyfriend and I were overseas,” Saxena said. “We could see and talk to each other since neither of us had phones.”
Students can save money on long distance calls using Skype, Sheldon said.
“I know international students who talk with their parents using Skype because it is free,” Sheldon said. “It won’t decline overall usage of cell phones, but you can use it to speak with people who don’t live close and you haven’t seen in a long time.”
Viewing landlines and TV sets as a luxury seems to be a growing sentiment among younger Americans, according to the Pew Center’s study.
“Fewer than half of 18- to 29-year-old survey respondents consider the landline phone a necessity of life,” the study reported. “Fewer than three in 10 say the same about the television set.”
University students have agreed with this statement in the past, Jay High, communications manager for the Department of Residential Life, said in an e-mail.
“We learned that over 95 percent of students did not use the landline telephone service in their room because they used their own mobile phone,” High said. “The decision was made to implement the [removal of phone lines from residence halls].”
ResLife used the extra money it saved by discontinuing the phone service to install wireless Internet throughout residence halls, High said.
“A cost-analysis confirmed that the wireless installation could be completed with the money saved,” High said.
But the future is not totally dark for landlines and TV sets, Sheldon said.
“Cell phone usage will be more individual,” Sheldon said. “But we will need to have [landline] numbers for commercial businesses.”
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Contact Kittu Pannu at [email protected]