Listen Up: No longer a luxury, cell phones have become indispensable

Kirk Baird

Monday, Nov. 17, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.

They're in cineplexes. Shopping malls. Grocery stores. Concerts. Elevators. Churches. Even bathrooms.

You simply cannot escape the ubiquitous cell phone.

Apparently, there is no safe haven from the beeps, chimes and noises of cell phones and their owners.

It's been 20 years since Motorola offered the first cell phone the "brick phone" as it came to be known in the United States.

It was a large, weighty, cumbersome device much like a boom box only more novel than useful.

But as the phones have shrunk, the number of users has swelled.

This year there are more than 150 million cellular phone subscribers in the United States, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. That's up from 109 million in 2000 and more than double the number of cell phone users in 1995.

And the projection is for 200 million subscribers by 2005. That's roughly a cell phone for two out of every three Americans.

Even the Federal Communications Commission was compelled to address the growing number of cell phone users by allowing them to transfer their home phone numbers to their cell phones.

The recent FCC ruling, which goes into effect Nov. 24, is seen as a victory for cell phone users, many of whom rely on the mobile phone as their primary if not only source of voice-to-voice communication.

A little less conversation

Some states have responded to cell phones' prevalence by enacting legislation limiting cell phone use while driving.

Texas, for example, this year made it illegal for a driver to operate a cell phone unless it is connected to a hands-free headset. New York took it a step further in 2001 and made a statewide ban of cell phone use while driving.

New York City, meanwhile, created a law banning cell phones in places of public performance libraries, movie theaters, museums except sporting events and in cases of emergency.

Nevada has no such law.

According to a recent study on the causes of vehicle accidents by AAA, the not-for-profit group of 77 motor clubs nationwide, cell phones might not be the villain they are made out to be.

In the report, "distractions" were cited by drivers in nearly 13 percent of the accidents researched. Of that percent, 29.4 percent of the drivers were distracted by an outside person, object or event and 11.4 percent were busy adjusting their CD player or car stereo.

Only 1.5 percent said they were using their cell phone or less than two out of every 100 drivers.

"There aren't many crashes directly related to cell phone use," said Lisa Foster, spokeswoman for Nevada's AAA office. "(But) That doesn't mean you should be driving and talking at the same time."

Even hands-free devices are not as safe as some people believe they are, she said.

"You still have the distraction of conversation, which is a different type of distraction than actually dialing the phone," Foster said. "We always encourage people to pull over before making phone calls and to never have an emotional conversation when driving -- including with people in the car."

All tied up

Though the phones are wireless, they seem to represent a leash around the necks of many users.

"I can't live without it," said Laura Herlovich, owner of P.R. Plus, a Las Vegas public relations firm that specializes in entertainment.

"When I go on vacation in Hawaii, I carry my cell phone with me. My boyfriend hates it. But I feel naked without it. Isn't that horrible? We don't ever get away from what we do."

While use of cell phones has increased dramatically, there remain questions about the health of the users. Noted film critic Gene Siskel died in 1999 after developing a brain tumor, and his longtime movie-going partner, Roger Ebert, blamed the cancer on Siskel's extended cell phone use.

"I refuse to use one," Ebert told the Los Angeles Times in February 2001. "I think they cause brain cancer."

While there have been no direct links from cell phone use to cancer, one study showed microwave radiation similar to the kind used in cell phones caused long-term memory loss in rats.

Even the Food and Drug Association isn't entirely sure of what health issues might arise from prolonged cell phone use.

"The available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with using wireless phones," according to a statement on the FDA's website, www.fda.gov.

Still the FDA acknowledges, "... there is no proof, however, that wireless phones are absolutely safe."

Rob Wilner, a Las Vegas real estate agent, said he is concerned about the possible long-term effect of cell phone use.

"I always have this little fear that too much cellular in your ear is going to bring something bad to you," Wilner said.

Despite his concerns, Wilner is on the phone at least two hours a day, which is still far above the average amount of time a subscriber spends on a cell phone -- 450 minutes a month.

Rick Garson spends hours on the phone instead of minutes.

"It's ridiculous," he said.

Garson even joked about joining Cell Phone Users Anonymous.

"It's nonstop. I'm addicted to it," said the producer of Fox's "Live New Year's Eve Special." "I'm going to weekly meetings for what's wrong.

"I don't like the cell phone, I really don't. But it is a necessary evil."

Handy device

Why have users become so attached to their wireless phones?

"Cell phones give people a strong feeling of importance because it means they can reached at any minute," said Carol Page, founder of www.cellmanners.com and a managing partner of Carol Page Communications, a Boston area PR boutique.

And because cell phones have become valuable, people are dependent on them.

"They never know what kind of phone call is going to come in. It could be the next big business deal or an incredibly personal call that could lead to the love of their life," Page said in an interview from her home in Summerville, Mass.

Even Page acknowledges her dependency on her cell phone.

"I can't imagine not having a cell phone," Page said. "The amount of convenience provided in my life and being available for clients who really need to reach me if I'm out. So, yeah, I don't think there's anything wrong with using a cell phone for good reasons."

Such as for work, or for parents to check on teenagers.

While Clark County School District won't allow cell phone use during class, the school does allow students to bring their cell phones and pagers to school for use during lunch, on the bus ride to and from school and in cases of emergency.

Stan Carroll, co-owner of the Wild Sage and Wild Sage Cafe in Las Vegas, said he has noticed an increasing number of cell phones in his restaurants.

"Everyone has one," he said. "Even my dishwashers have cell phones."

When it comes to using the cell phones in his restaurant, however, no one seems offended.

"I think most people are conscious enough about it," he said. "If the phone does ring, they get it pretty quick. It may bother somebody, but I've never heard anyone complain about it."

Still, using a cell phone is not acceptable everywhere.

As Page learned firsthand two years ago, even checking voice mail messages is irritating to some.

"I got a cell phone and made a mistake of checking messages before a movie," she said. "I got incredibly dirty looks."

So Page created the website to address when it is and is not appropriate to use a cell phone.

Her philosophy: Know your environment.

"People say you can't talk on cell phones in a restaurant. I say you can. As long as you're not speaking louder than anyone else or behaving in an inappropriate way," Page said. "A lot of people would disagree with me on that, but cell phones are our friends."