Answers to your cell phone questions

Cell phones have gone from being a luxury item for the wealthily to a status symbol for the up and coming junior executive to an indispensable aid for the modern family. Here are some cell phone facts that may crystallize your opinion:

* In the United States there are over 200 million cell phone users compared to about 30 million a decade ago.
* According to an 2004 MIT survey the cell phone is the
invention people love and hate the most beating out
television and the alarm clock!
* A study conducted by the University of Michigan in 2005, 83 percent stated that cell phones made their life easier.
* 60 percent indicated that they find it irritating when cell phones are used in public.
* In a 2005 survey conducted by BBDO Worldwide, which is an advertising agency, 15 percent of Americans have interrupted having sexual relations to answer a ringing cell phone.
* There is a growing acceptance of cell phone usage in supermarkets with 66 percent approving. When was the last time you where in the supermarket and could not recall all of the items you needed to purchase?
* Washington, DC enacted the first law banning holding a cell phone while driving. Over six thousand tickets where issued last year!
* Driving while talking on a cell phone increases the likelihood of having an accident by four time according to study conducted by the Insurance Institute.
* In a study conducted by Telephia, people between 18 and 24 years old talk on their cell phone an average of 22 hours per month. I believe that parents would agree that that number is too low!
* The San Francisco Chronicle reported that 61 million users have tried text messaging at least once.
* And the most interesting fact is 66 percent use their cell phone’s backlight to look for keyholes and sidewalks in the dark!