Comment by onlyrealcuzzo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by onlyrealcuzzo | Hacker News Reader

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This is what I don't get. If the median income is about ~$1600, how does almost everyone have a $200 phone?

If you assume a phone gets replaced every 3 years -- with service -- that's about $110 per year, or close to 7% of a person's total income.

In the US, median income is ~$32k -- $26k after taxes. If you make the same assumptions, a phone would cost about $580, or close to ~2% of a person's total income.

So it seems like not so big of a deal, especially for something so valuable.

But the teen part is what piqued my interest. India is MUCH younger than the US. Women participate in the workforce at a MUCH lower rate. And household size is MUCH larger. If you factor all of those things together, it means that for like 60% of families with children, you have a single earner with a spouse and 2.9 children. If everyone's got a phone, that's more than 40% of your household income. THAT seems insane.

In Indian cities, for a lot of people involved in the service industry, being in touch with their clientele through phone (often WhatsApp) is a fantastic boon that increases earnings. They don't need the latest and greatest phone, but a smartphone with a data plan is almost surely worth it.

On the topic of teens affording smartphones, either they come from relatively well to do families so their parents can spare the money, or they're older and make some money on the side by running errands, etc.

Consider the amount Americans spend on cars.

If I had to, I would spend 10% of my income on a smartphone / laptop / whatever without even thinking. It simply pays for itself.

I CANNOT believe how much Americans spend on cars. As an American, I just do not get it.

Whether you're rich or poor, people spend INSANE amounts of money commuting. I get it that our public transit is garbage. I just don't get how much people pay to commute instead of moving somewhere that makes better economic sense (even within the same metro, where you can keep all your roots -- your family and friends and eat at your favorite restaurants and all that).

Statistics are useful but they don't always show accurate information. India is one of the most diverse country in the world. Hell even the states are like little countries living together. I am an Indian but even I can't make assumption like that about another state.

But still I don't think everyone replaces their phones in just 3 years. The younger generation does that (they replace their phones even faster). But the older generation who use a smart phone like a phone keeps their phones for lot more then 5 years.

And these days due to population control awareness most couples limit themselves to only 2 children.

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