It’s more common than you may think, but getting less popular, according to recent polls.
Some cellphone users are all over their parents’ plans. Mirko / stock.adobe.com
There are all sorts of milestones that can denote the passage into adulthood. Once upon a time it might have been the day you slaughtered your first mastodon. More recently, it might have been when you moved from your parents’ house, or when you got married, or had kids, or finally deleted your MySpace page.
But these days, a lot of people consider the truest sign of embracing your adult self to be — gasp! — getting off your parents’ cellphone plan.
Ubiquitous smartphones are a recent enough phenomenon that this is a relatively new decision to be grappling with. But CNBC reports that 76% of Americans describe coming off a parent’s cell phone plan as one of the “ultimate signs” of adulthood, according to a survey conducted by AT&T. (Which presumably has a vested interest in such things.)
But just because a lot of people think that transition is a big deal doesn’t mean that a lot of people are actually doing it. According to another survey by the cell phone and internet plan comparison site WhistleOut, one in five American adults is on their parents’ cellphone plan, including 43% of Gen Zers (born between 1997 and 2010).
Not only that — a full 50% of Gen Xers who are on their parents’ plans said in that same poll that they plan to stay on it forever, or until their parents shuffle off this mortal coil, whichever comes first. (Given that Gen Xers are currently between 45 and 60, they probably figure if they’ve gone this far they might as well stick it out.)
But it’s not all moochery. In most cases the per-line cost is cheaper with multiple people on the same plan, making it a win-win for all parties — if everyone chips in, that is. According to the WhistleOut poll, that accounts for 64% of the adults on their parents’ plans. For the 36% of cheapskates who don’t, their parents are apparently out of luck.
Meanwhile, overall, the number of people on their parents’ plans is dropping, from 34% of American adults in 2022 to 22% today, according to WhistleOut. This is possibly due to inflation and rising plan costs pushing more parents to finally give their kids the boot. Also those parents of Gen Xers dying off probably isn’t helping.
We want to know, are your adult kids still on your phone plan? Or if you are an adult on your parents’ plan, how do you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning? Ha! We kid the moochers, we’re sure they feel fine about it.
Take the poll below, or email [email protected], and we may feature your response in an upcoming article.
Are you still on your parents’ cellphone plan?
Peter ChiancaGeneral Assignment Editor
Peter Chianca, Boston.com’s general assignment editor since 2019, is a longtime news editor, columnist, and music writer in the Greater Boston area.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.