Going mobile
One of the most interesting sessions I attended at the MLA conference earlier this month was “Technoschism” with Stephen Abram. It was a fascinating discussion on what’s on the technology horizon, and gave me a lot to think about. One of the points he made was that very soon the technology will be in place for people to easily access the Internet via their cell phones. The implications for library service to teens are huge! A recent article by eMarketer states that over half of 12- to 14-year-olds own their own cell phones, and that companies are starting to market phones to kids in the 10 and under age group. Wow!
Another interesting study, this time from the federal government, shows that young adults, ages 18-24, are starting to go to cell phone only, instead of using regular land line phones at home. A Centers for Disease Control survey shows that the number of adults living in households with only wireless phones continues to increase. I suspect that as our current generation of teens gets older, those numbers will increase dramatically. What do you think? How will this trend influence library service?
Add comment May 15th, 2007
