My Comments Made on the Blog of Sydney Covington: This is his blog address: https://talkstrategiccommunication.wordpress.com/

Here is a special post.  It is my comments made on the blog of Sydney Covington today:  This is his blog address: https://talkstrategiccommunication.wordpress.com/

Hi Sydney,

You astutely point out that we live in a world where young Americans and Westerners are increasingly going mobile, with sales of mobile phones and tablets outpacing the sales of desktops.  Yet you also make it clear that you understand that many people are still using desktops.  It seems that the pressure to upgrade smart phones and tablets is not as intense for desktops, which must be upgraded from time to time also.  I don't own a tablet.  I bought a laptop.  It is possible that I will get a tablet, but I don't want to be face with having to supply data to the tablet.  I see much of the proliferation of mobile as the result of savvy marketing.  Many of us have desktops, laptops, smart phones and tablets.  The cost of these devices (the hardware) and the cost of services to connect the devices to the internet (data) combine to make a lot of money for the technology companies marketing these products and services.  While the laws of supply and demand determine just how many of the devices and services are sold, marketers work hard to increase demand. 

The digital divide is being bridged more by mobile applications, because they are cheaper and require less electricity and broadband access. 

You also point out how demographics, especially age, is influencing how people access information, with younger people using more mobile than desktop access.  It may be a matter of economics for young people who often can't afford the luxury of having multiple data accounts and multiple hardware configurations.  For example, a desktop computer, unless it is an all in one, must have a monitor, and speakers.  Many young people go mobile only because of their budget, while some older people, who already have desktops, simply add on the mobile and so have both.

The home telephone is also more likely to have a land line for older people, plus a cell phone line.  Younger people often have only the cell phone line.  Again, economics often plays an important role in this.  Yet, another cause is often the fact that older more established people have always had land lines, so for them it was a matter of adding on the cell phone.  Some young people, as they sought to get established were faced with deciding whether or not to get a landline, and chose not to.  Telephone company marketing also plays a role.  It seems that television marketer are not marketing landlines.  In fact, they seem to be discouraging the use of landlines.