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College Students Turn Away From Landlines

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the along-with-everyone-else dept.

prostoalex writes "You're as likely to find a landline in a college dorm as you're an old typewriter, according to this Washington Post article on MSNBC. While roughly 30% of college students had a cell phone 5 years ago, more than 90% have them today, resulting in student directories including out-of-state numbers instead of 4-digit extensions. More trivia on college students: 90% own a PC, 65% have broadband, 62% own a stereo system, 74% have a DVD player, 55% have a gaming system. What the Washington Post article also hints at, is possible tuition hikes due to the landlines dropped so quickly. "Six or seven years ago, telephones on campus were a cash cow," said Glenn Gaslin of Morrisville State College in New York."

4 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. 90%? by Omniscientist · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have not met one person here (University of Minneapolis) who does not own a PC. I also have not met anyone else here who runs an OS other than Windows.

  2. That's great and all ... by jdwest · · Score: 5, Interesting

    except when one rings during my lecture.

    Never fails, despite warnings to the contrary. So I INSIST that they take the call -- right then, right there. I see a few others stealthily reaching into their backpacks to turn theirs off.

    I don't have any problems ... for the rest of the semester, at least.

    --

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet ...
    1. Re:That's great and all ... by wintermute1000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      My math professor answered his phone during lecture once. He talked for about a minute, exchanging pleasantries, etc, then hung up and said, "I get to go to the symphony tonight!" The class was in hysterics.

      I know another professor who elaborately staged an event where he made it look as though he snatched a student's phone out of her purse and stomped on it. He heard rumors about himself at other colleges in the area within a few weeks. Apparently the act of violence made a big splash.

  3. Re:It's just indicative of where phone use is head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hey! Verizon Landline is totally separate from Verizon Wireless. They don't have a single person working for them in common AFAIK. They are owned by some of the same people, but just because Verizon landline is a bunch of rotten asshats, don't lump us in with them.

    Disclaimer: I work for Verizon Wireless