WEB & CELL TRAFFIC
Americans are talking less on their cellphones.
When they do talk, the conversations are shorter, according to industry data.
Partly, this reflects the shift in use of cellphones more as mobile computers that communicate via written messages. But this also reflects a subtle shift in etiquette, experts say. People increasingly use text messages and e-mail to arrange telephone calls, which are reserved for more important, complicated dialogues. An unscheduled call from people other than family members, they say, is often regarded as a rude intrusion.
College freshman don’t wear watches — cellphones are their timepieces — and seldom use e-mail, notes the Beloit College Mindset List, which was released last week.
