Americans and landline and cell phone usage

Only about 50% of Americans today utilize both a landline and a cell phone at home, down from 90% ten years ago (McCarthy, 2015). Even while landlines have long provided the convenience of communicating across great distances, the mobility of cellphones has surpassed demand for them. The present developments in supply and demand are what fuel today’s power of consumption. The cleverness of how consumer needs and wants may shape economic forces and, ultimately, the purchasing power of the consumer, is all too obvious.

Demands for innovative technology to generate food goods are significantly impacted by population expansion (Guyot-Bender, 2013). With increasing demand for food evident in the increase in the number of people increases demand to buy more, stimulating production, trade and industry. Similarly, the endorsements of sports celebrities like football and basketball players have also shaped what avid fans buy, from gym gear to cereals. The more famous the endorser, the pricier the product because the demand is higher.

In the labor force, an ageing population becomes problematic for any country as it means an anticipated decrease of manpower in the workforce and increase in government subsidies for healthcare and pension payments (United Nations, 2015, pp. 99-100). This global trend weakens economic activity in general. At an individual level, the length of time to get a job one’s capacity to choose, thus slackening job fit and furthers the decrease of productivity and economic activity.

On a personal note, admittedly the decision to purchase a new cell phone was tempting over the holidays but supply of my preferred model was depleted because the demand for it was high. Another observation was the sales of turkey items peaked during the season, then became sale items after Christmas since demand has diminished.

References

Guyot-Bender, C. (2013, October 31). How do we feed our growing population? Retrieved from Action Against Hunger: http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/blog/how-do-we-feed-our-growing-population

McCarthy, N. (2015, February 27). The Great Decline Of The Landline [Infographic]. Retrieved from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/02/27/the-great-decline-of-the-landline-infographic/#2980b6911d82

United Nations. (2015). World Population Ageing. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.