[aimhigh]

In an information age economy I am not sure that cell phones and cable TV are necessarily luxuries..

Cable TV is entertainment, not information. Cell phones are gab and gossip, not information. When I experienced a tight budget, I lived without both. There is no hope for the younger generation.

[AndyJackson]

Cell phones are gab and gossip, not information.

Cell phones are even an essential part of economic life in India, Turkey and Africa.

I presume that you are a boomer trying to lecture the younger generation on their affairs. That is a laugh.