{"id":552381,"date":"2007-05-27T10:05:45","date_gmt":"2007-05-27T10:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/technology\/552381-i-simply-can-t-live-without-my-cellphone-2.html"},"modified":"2007-05-27T10:05:45","modified_gmt":"2007-05-27T10:05:45","slug":"i-simply-can-t-live-without-my-cellphone-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/technology\/552381-i-simply-can-t-live-without-my-cellphone-2.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I simply can\u2019t live without my cellphone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of South Africa\u2019s younger generation do not speak on their phones \u2014 they spend most of their time on social networking services like MXit, which have taken over from regular SMS functionality.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cMaking calls is too expensive,\u201d says Nicky Howell, 14. \u201cI use my phone mostly for MXit, followed by SMSing friends. Chatting services are very addictive \u2014 I can\u2019t do without them.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Value for money and free stuff have always been top of the list of motivations for cash-strapped young people, and using affordable communication channels means avoiding the parental control that comes with more expensive options. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we have two or more contracts or phones, so it would be difficult for our parents to track what we\u2019re doing. Only money is really controlled by our parents,\u201d says Howell.<\/font><\/p>\n

But most young people appear to be aware of the dangers of chat rooms and online services.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cChat rooms are pretty boring now. You can tell the dangerous guys because all they ever say is, \u2018I want to meet you, I want to meet you.\u2019 We know they\u2019re lying and only out for sex,\u201d says Pamela, 14.<\/font><\/p>\n

Aside from being the first to offer the free and therefore immensely popular \u201cPlease call me\u201d option, Vodacom is ranked first as a telecommunications provider. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be on the same network as our parents, and it doesn\u2019t feel like that with Vodacom,\u201d says Trevor Crouse, 14. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only other company that comes close is Virgin because they have a more rebellious image.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Vodacom\u2019s advertising, and Virgin\u2019s, to a lesser extent, seem to make a big difference. <\/font><\/p>\n

More recently, MTN has reinvented itself, producing a string of adverts which South Africa\u2019s youth considers cool. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cWith Virgin, the Branson idea is associated with his products, and we identify with the Blingtopia ideal. But sometimes we\u2019re confused by these messages because we don\u2019t know what part of Virgin is actually being advertised,\u201d says Nathan Woods, 14. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to Vodacom, they get us young with characters like Mo the meerkat, and we have known them for years.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Vodacom South Africa\u2019s managing executive for brand and advertising, Andr\u00e9 Beyers, says although the cellphone industry is highly competitive, the company does not directly target young people under the age of 18. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cOur youth market is between the ages of 18 and 24. We follow trends in the youth market very closely and use a variety of research studies to gain greater insight into the market. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cBrands that resonate with the youth are often iconic, highly popular, and deliver on their promises. We aim to deliver on all these criteria for our young customers.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Interbrand CEO Jeremy Sampson says Vodacom\u2019s success in building emotional attachments with the young public would not survive without the backup of value for money and technical consistency. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cOne element in its success is its South African-ism. It plays that card more heavily than other networks.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cVirgin aims to set itself up as the rebel, the David versus the Goliaths, which is youthful and in-your-face. Virgin\u2019s leadership in South Africa is experienced and I expect more from them.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cMTN seems to come across as too mature, and it behaves differently as a company.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

With regard to handsets, Nokia came up trumps. <\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cCellphone makes are like banks \u2014 we don\u2019t tend to change and we get used to them. Nokia\u2019s operating systems are popular and reliable and the phones offer good features ,\u201d says Sampson.<\/font><\/p>\n

Comments<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

YOUNG male South Africans have listed their cellphone as the one thing they can\u2019t live without \u2014 ahead of family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-552381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552381"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}