Cell Phones Soar in Africa

Just recently in my online class, African Cultures, we discussed about how people in Africa have cell phones and how the number has just sky rocketed within' the last decade. Many of them go without electricity, but yet have a cell phone. It's so weird to me because I think I would want electricity over a cell phone, but some think different. According to Sharon LaFraniere people in Africa have made it the fastest growing cell phone market in the world. Almost everyone has one! Going from 7.5 million people  to 76 million people having one, that's insane, it's quite a jump. People from South Africa talk about how it's a necessity now! They don't go anywhere without it, just like us Americans, it's constantly connected to our ears, never leaves. Studies have shown that now one in every eleven Africans has a cell phone, or is a mobile subscriber. They go crazy now, trying to find areas that contain cell phone coverage is sometimes hard, but many of them are willing to take the challenge whether it's stomping through swaps or climbing fifty foot trees, they do what needs to be done to find service.

It's really interesting how many of them use their cell phones, because it's not how us Americans in the U.S. use them. We use our cell phones everyday to just chit-chat with friends, text, and for business purposes. Those in Africa use them in some of the same ways, but they find ways to make money off of them as well. One man uses his as a public pay phone and charges people to use it. It's quite interesting, he is making money off of it and can probably afford to pay his cell phone bill from all of the people who use it. Others use it for business reasons like one lady does to sell fish. They even use them for emergancy reasons too. They can pick up the phone dial the emergency number and will be located to a local clinic within fifteen to twenty minutes. I just find it so interesting how many of them would rather have a cell phone over electricity!

As you can see, cell phones have boomed in all different areas all over the world. Phones we had six years ago are the "in" phones for them right now. Although they are slightly behind us in the technology world they are coming up in it and making a difference. They want to be more modernized with the rest of the world and continue to keep up with the surrounding countires and continents.