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Subscribe to RSSAs teenagers demand independence and eventually move out, they’re not always quick to cut the cord when it comes paying their own cell phone bill.
Tim Roberts | Taxi | Getty Images
Many twentysomethings remain on their parents' family cellphone plan.
Often they’re perfectly OK staying on their parents’ cell phone plan and online subscriptions that allow more than one user, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal. Harris surveyed 620 parents with adult children for its report.
Among 620 parents with 18- to 35-year-old children, more than 40 percent of those surveyed said they still pay for their kids’ cellphone service, and 29 percent were still doing so even if their children no longer lived at home.
Usually those phone bills are paid through a family plan that lowers the cost for all users. Sprint, for example, allows up to five lines on one plan, with no requirement that users live in the same state. A $150 monthly rate pays for 1,500 minutes for two lines. Lines three through five cost $30 each.
Family plans are gaining in popularity, said Weston Henderek, the principal analyst for the wireless services sector at Current Analysis. “The incentive to be part of a bundles plan, like a family plan, is much higher than it used to be,” he said.
The economies of scale make it financially smarter for adult children to share a family plan with the parents and just split the cost, Henderek said.
The wireless providers benefit too, because individuals are less likely to switch companies when they are part of a family plan. The pressure to stick to the family plan means less turnover for the phone companies, Henderek said.
The phone companies are reluctant to reveal how much business comes through group plans rather than individual accounts, but Henderek said AT&T recently said 80 percent of its customers (excluding pre-paid plans) use family plans or business accounts that operate like family plans. “Overall I estimate that AT&T and Verizon are in the same place,” he said.
The percentage is even higher if you count only smartphones. About 90 percent of AT&T's smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk, Mobile Share or business plans, an AT&T spokesman said.
All told, as of the fourth quarter for 2012, AT&T’s Mobile Share plans had 6.6 million customers across 2.2 million accounts, indicating about three devices per account, according to the spokesman.
“For the big carriers, they are all headed into this family plan structure,” Henderek said.
In 2010, a Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that most teenagers with cell phones have family plans paid by their parents.
“Seventeen seems to be a critical age in terms of cell phone responsibility; at that age, the percentage of cell phone users who are responsible for at least part of their cell phone bills jumps to 40 percent,” the Pew report states.
The percentages start to vary when race and family income is taken into account, according to Pew’s “Teens and Mobile Phones” report. Overall, 29 percent of teen cell phone users paid for at least part of their bills while the rate was 63 percent among black and Hispanic teens in households with incomes below $30,000.
The Pew study was based on interviews in 2009 with 800 teenagers ages 12 to 17 and their parents, and on nine focus groups conducted with teens between the ages of 12 and 18.
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If there's little to no cost for having that additional line, then why not? Several years ago, I added my mother in law, who then had a prepaid phone, to our plan. Costs me a whole 10.00 a month (she just uses it for phone calls), and it's the least I could do to thank her for babysitting now and then. I'd have no problem keeping an adult child on my plan, provided they pay for any phones/setup fees/additional costs.
Agreed. Besides it would also require you to sign up again for another 2 year plan which would cost more and offer less.
Similar to our situation...we added my wife's parents to our plan, and we also added a family friend. It just makes sense to save the money considering how high the cost is for everyone to have their own plan.
Well if the parents are stupid enough to pay for it still..that's their fault. Easy to stop it!
I still have my daughter on our family plan, by my choice. She is a 21 y/o college student, who lives in another state while going to school, pays for all of her own expenses, including school, while working part time. I'm so proud of her for what she is doing, the $40 per month that I spend on her cell phone bill is nothing. I'd do a lot more if I could.
In this economy with people whining about losing jobs, houses, etc, people are still willing to pay $150 per month plus additional lines just so they can run their mouths, text etc.
I pay $20 for 3 months ($80/yr) to have a cell phone....enough for an emergency or needed call. Do the math....
And you wonder why the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer....Rich people save, poor people spend.
We have our in-laws on our plan too!
Due to costs of everything going up - it makes sense to stay on one bill. Everyone pays less. I am switching to get onto my boyfriends bill which will save me money every month compared to what I'm paying now. Why not?!
i'm 26 and on my parent's cell plan. Only $30/month as opposed to some ridiculous amount i'd pay if i had my own. I have my tablet on there too. And yes, I pay them and have for years.
Exactly the reason both my children are on my plan. But I do make them pay their portion of the bill each month. It's much less expensive than each of them having their own plan.
Does it still count if I pay for the entire family plan?
Yes :) You are still saving your family money every month. Very generous of you!
Split the bill with your kids - they should pay for some of it. That's the one item that's extremely important to them, so they WILL pay!
I'm 34 and on my parents cell phone plan. The whole family is. Since my mother works for Verizon Wireless it was a no brainer.
What independence do teenagers seek these days? Hell, what independence does anybody seek out these days? It's ALL about dependence. Kind of a hypocritical article from MSNBC who propagates nothing but social assistance, staying on your parents healthcare until you're 26 years of age and having ambitions to NOT become wealthy or succeed because then you are "greedy" and "evil".
So, sure, stay on your parents cell phone plan playing games, watching videos and texting instead of going out to get a JOB, rake leaves, mow yards, sweep streets, trim hedges, clean gutters or wash cars for money. Is there no pride in doing it by yourself for yourself anymore?
Plenty of pride in doing it for yourself but as long as the cell phone companies are comfortable with charging $75 for the first line but only $10 for each line after that, I will continue with my daughter on my plan. I see nothing independent about giving a corporation anymore money than is necessary. If you feel that need, please, be my guest!
It's not about dependence, Rob, it's about saving money.
I'm 27 and still on my parents' plan (I pay my own share and am an admin on the account) for two reasons: 1.) It costs half as much, and 2.) I have the old grandfathered Verizon unlimited data plan for my smartphone, which is an amazing deal and no longer available from ANY carrier.
I have my own, well-paying job, have my own house, and don't depend on my parents for anything. But why pay so much more for a rip-off cell phone contract when I don't have to?
Rob just wanted to get the tired old "liberals are moochers" jab in, even though it's been proven false time and again.
Okay...and what about liability, accountability and responsibility? That is really the big issue with children these days. I have two teenagers and a ten year old and trust me...I know.
At any rate, I co-signed a car 5 years ago to reduce the interest rate for an immediate family member which resulted in lower payments and I even put them on my insurance (it helped us both on insurance).
I got screwed and that family member learned NO lessons. All the liability fell on me and the motivation for them to be responsible was completely diminished at the expense of KNOWING I would pay it to save my own credit, late fees and insurance rates.
As grown adults 18 and over, they need to step out there and learn to be self sufficient without the answers and solution for everything falling on someone else's shoulders.
Just saying. It makes perfect logical sense either way I suppose. But only one of those options will lead you down a road of wisdom and discipline.
Thats pretty funny that you mention that Sally Lu. Reason being, the family member who I co-signed for is a HUGE Obama fan and die hard liberal. He is also a dead beat who does nothing but whine about how life is unfair. Coincidence perhaps? Or the norm?
My dad paid for my cell phone through college because he wanted me to have one if I was driving and he knew I probably just wouldn't have one if he didn't pay for it. It's not that I couldn't afford it it's just that I was/am super cheap. Then I graduated, then I was cut off, then I got my own line. Actually he's on mine now, WTF!?
Rob, if you really wanted the family member to learn accountability why didn't you just repo the car and sell it to recoup your losses? All families have someone that can't handle responsibility, but joining their parents on a cell phone has nothing to do with it. It's all about saving everyone some money. True, I would love for my teenage son to get out and do some odd jobs for money to help me pay the bill, but life is not like it was when we were kids. No one will pay him to mow the lawn or trim the hedges because they already have people to do that. Or, like my brother's family, they live in townhomes where all of that is done for them. During the holidays when stores were screaming for extra help, I couldn't get him a job because he's 15 and they didn't want to redo the schedule to fit in reduced hours for him. It's just a phone bill. Come back and complain in several years when he has over $100,000 in college debt that he can't pay because he can't find more than a minimum wage job. Oh wait, those people are at least trying. Does that mean that they're not responsible either?
I have a deal for both of my kids. Stay in school (college now, both of them) and I will pay your phone bill. Once you're out of school, you can get your own. Seems simple enough.
There are three generations of us on the VZ family plan. My 30-yr-old son, who knows the most about getting the best deals with VZ, is in charge of the account. I do a simple bank transfer to his account each month to cover my mom's and my expense. Why not? Our family is all about pooling our resources "for the common good"!!
Same as many people have posted. 29 and still on my parents plan and have been since high school. But, I have been paying my father every month for my part of the plan since i graduated. I would rather pay him $30 a month for a cellphone bill than show my "independence" and pay $75+. To have the parents still pay for it after that point is ridiculous(OBama phone), but to have it be one bill and pay that person every month instead saves a ton.
I am 30, married and my mom is actually on OUR phone plan. My brother was before he changed jobs and his company pays for his, as does my dad's. The bundling or family plan is definitely a cost saver. Just because phone companies see bundles, does not mean the parent is PAYING for that phone. They do have lines broken out nicely for the cost each month,. Just because the plan is paid in one lump sum does not mean there was not money exchanged between family members.....
$150.00 per month or $1,800.00 per year for cell phones. Holy cow................
Well come on now it is the OBAMA way live off of someone else, RIGHT? Heck most young adults that don't have jobs because of this OBAMA-nomics economy can't afford a phone.
Seriously? My very liberal 21 y/o daughter is in living in another state, going to college, working part time and paying all of her own expenses, except her cell phone bill, which I gladly pay. She is being responsible and doing the right thing. Very different from many of the conservatives that I see in the southern states, living on welfare, soaking the system, while complaining about everyone else. Leave it to a con to make this a political issue. Dumb.
Sally Lu,
You better hope your liberal daughter doesnt get a masterful education, work hard and move up the promotion ladder of her business, occupation or otherwise. Better hope she doesnt ever make too much money. Better hope she doesnt ever become a CEO, mogul, business owner or make more than $250,000 per year. Be SURE to limit her success so she doesnt become "one of them" because she will be hated, loathed and despised.
Why exactly IS she going to school? What is her major? Or is she going to join a non-profit organization and work on peace and social programs? It's funny that the leaders of ALL those "feel good" things are wealthy millionaires with stock invested in every capitalist, corrupt corporation across the globe.
The percentages start to vary when race and family income is taken into account, What is the purpose of pulling race into this?
Divide, divide, divide!! It's the agenda of every MSNBC article. Even millionaire minorities are still considered impoverished, oppressed and discriminated against by the media and the blind loyalty of the left.
Wonder how many stay on car insurance? Mine did until well after college. Why not?
Me nor none of my brothers were EVER on my fathers insurance. We got our own. Having the complete independence felt great. I also worked every summer at age 13 de-tassling corn for farmers and then for businesses as soon as I turned 15 years old. I have never been without a job...no job has ever been beneath me.
How long do you think it will take the cell phone companies to figure this out and raise prices on everyone? Thanks for bringing this to their immediate attention.
I want my children on my phone plan. That way I know for sure they will have a working phone and I can get in touch with them. Well worth the cost for the peace of mind. They have plenty of other expenses to struggle with.
You can "cut the cord" any time now. They are grown up.
I see people like you that won't let their 16 year-old kids walk next door to the bus stop.
Let your kids grow up for crying out loud.
The are in college for crying out loud, one in Japan (so much for not letting them go next door).
I stay on my families plan. I'm 22 and have lived away from home for 4 years now.
My mom just takes 30 bucks a month from my account.
You should tell your mom she should take more. That $30 plan really costs more like $45 after all the various taxes and fees.
The term "young adults" is obsolete. Instead, society should say:
"Old children"
OMG, NBC. This is none of your damned business. Get out of people's lives. You're acting like paparazzi, here.
Parents just wont let their kids grow up and face the real world and thats not very smart.
The real world is teaching them that there are more economical ways to do some things. Being in a bundle is one of those ways.
Hear that Sound? It's the cell phone companies laughing all the way to the bank. Why do you think every third commercial is for a cell provider. There's money in them thar rubes! It's the biggest transfer of wealth, maybe of all time. And what are you getting? The ability to exercise your thumbs and bills as big as a house payment. I'll keep my $15/month burner.
My monthly cell phone plan covers myself, my wife, my son, and both of my in-laws. For the 5 phones (all dumb phones, because we despise the way people use smart phones everywhere and ignore their surroundings), and unlimited mobile to mobile, text, etc. I pay ~$130 a month. That's a steal, considering if each individual person had their own plan it'd be well over $200 a month. Pass the cost savings on to the family.
It's really the least you can do for the family that takes care of you in other ways. Free babysitting for the kid, or dog watchers while you are on vacation. Heck they'll even help you fix a sink, or help you move if you ask them to. For free. I'll gladly pay their cell phone bills for as long as we have the opportunity to. Afterall, it only costs me ~40$ a month for them to have a couple phones and do whatever they want with them. I'd pay more to have a babysitter come over for a single 4 hour gig, while the wife and I go out.
I have my son on my plan because it just makes sense.
I also have him on my auto insurance until he turns 25 and can get a decent rate on his own.
It's interesting how the telecommunications model had a paradigm shift to family phone plans,after targeting teens for phones to begin with.Resulting in extending dependency instead of independent lives as they grew up and moved out.
Families justifying such a different social change by the saving in high costs, the convenience, benefits. While companies almost guaranteeing future customers by raising certain prices, lowering others, to encourage such behaviors, anticipated saving in costs.
It's a revolutionary shift for a new age, but one that is based on the Asian family model, going back ages, of children who grow up to take care of their parents and grandparents, repeating. And one that used to be seen in previous agricultural societies, as America once was before the industrial age.
It is so easy to just add one more person to the plan, we don't see the danger of taking on more responsibility of others sometimes who need to be accountable for themselves. These plans can be great for families indeed.If used with caution, and that is the bottom line. Folks may not realize there are plans which pay month by month, no contracts.Although there are companies which offer cheap monthly rates, no contracts.For instance, I pay $40, i wireless with my Android, unlimited 24/7 covers the USA. Companies make most of their money off of contracts and signing up more. I believe in simplicity and carrying my own weight in life. I realize folks want to help, times are hard,folks do what they must. I also recall grandma, when she spoke of the depression, and other hardships talked of folks dignity, of how important Mildred felt it was being able to do what one could for themselves. No matter how small it was made a person feel right with their Maker.Over the years, as I grew up and through life when I struggled, yet followed her advice, she was right.
@Windancersong-1494878 - yes, perhaps family plans are a paradigm shift, the cause of fundamental societal changes, even an alteration of the very fabric of the universe. On the other hand, maybe they're just a way to bill for a service that works for some consumers, not for others.
I find the family plan to be a great way to teach kids responsibility. When my son was on his own for a year, I told him it was time for him to pay his portion of the bill. He does.
My daughters (high school and college) all wanted smartphones, and I told them they would have to pay the $30/month data package. I also don't purchase insurance for phones - if a kids loses their phone, they pay for the new one.
This is really one of the first ways a teen learns about paying bills and being responsible. If we go over our minutes, the kid who caused that pays the extra.
I don't think this is mooching or being depending. A family plan is far more economical. When my son was being lax in paying his bill I politely told him that he could get his own plan. He paid up right away. We'll stay on a family plan as long as that's the smartest way to go.
My son's bill portion is 17.00 bucks. Which he pays.
Kids are on a lot more than their parent's cell phone plan:
Car Insurance
Mid 20s and still living at home
and the list goes on.
What kids are failing to realize is that even if they're paying their share of the bills they aren't building and credit history for them selves. I wouldn't want to be 45 years old, just had my last living parent die and find out the apartment complex where I want to live won't let me in because I have no credit history.
For God's sake, wake up and get a life before it's to late!