Four Stocks for Cell-Phone Mania

Is it just rude, or is it a pathology? And pardon my own manners, but what's the investment angle?

Farewell, Friends

Jim Williams, an industrial sociologist based in Massachusetts, notes that cell-phone addiction is part of a set of symptoms in a widening gulf of personal isolation. He cites a study by Duke University researchers that found one-quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom to discuss their most important personal business.

In other words, William says, despite the growing use of phones, email and instant messaging, studies show that we don't have as many pals as our parents. "Just as more information has led to less wisdom, more acquaintances via the Internet and cell phones have produced fewer friends," he says.

If the mobile phone has truly had these effects, it's because it has become incredibly pervasive. Consider that as recently as 1987, there were only 1 million cell phones in use. Today something like 200 million Americans carry them. Almost three-quarters of American households have at least one, and many have three to five. About half of teens aged 13 to 16 have one. They far outnumber wired phones in the U.S.

Most emerging countries in Asia and Africa have skipped right over wired phones and launched straight into the wireless age. Naturally, India and China are the two fastest-growing markets: Nearly 6 million people signed up for cellular service in India in August alone; the one-month total in China was around 5 million.