Cellphones: Blackholes of Entertainment

For the Millennial generation, which is made up of 13-24 year olds, the cellphone has become the "black hole" of entertainment--they suck everything toward it.

That's according to a survey commissioned by Deloitte & Touche released this week. Not surprisingly, this generation is most active when it comes to producing user-generated content, gaming and using the Internet for socializing. But they're the least active as far as Internet surfing. They visit fewer Web sites each week than any other generation.

The number of people using cellphones to get entertainment is still relatively small, but growing. The survey said 24 percent of Millennials and 17 percent of Generation X-ers (people aged 25-31) listen to MP3s on their cellphones. About 9 percent of both groups watch movies and reach newspapers on their cellphones. Twenty-six percent of both groups use their cellphones almost daily to access some form of video content, like a YouTube clip.

The survey was conducted online, so the respondents were probably more inclined to be tech-savvy. But the stats confirm the trend toward the cellphone becoming a media device, no doubt helped along by the introduction of flashy devices like Apple's iPhone. Once wireless carriers improve the Web-surfing experience via cellphones, these numbers will surely shoot up.