According to an article in the New York Times, marketers have their eyes on our cell phones. Apparently, they say, it won't be long before we will have to wait through a 15-second advertisement before we get to check our email or send a message. (So far, nobody is talking about having to listen to ads before making a voice call -- yet.)

According to the article, "Several companies at the exposition are promising to meld advertising with the mobile phone in a way that respects people’s privacy...."

Yeah. Right.

Now, I'm part of the generation that grew up with commercials, so I'm pretty used to it. Back in the prehistoric days, before cable, there was just broadcast TV, and unless you were watching Sesame Street or Masterpiece Theatre on public TV, you took it for granted that your program was going to be interrupted by commercials.

But when those ads went out on my family TV, they didn't have access to all the information that comes with my cell account -- including my phone number, the calls I've made and received, what kind of phone I have and how much I paid for it, etc.

What today's advertisers don't have access to is the kind of language that I'm going to use if/when I have to put up with ads before I use my cell phone. Between the cost of the phones and the service -- not to mention the inconvenience of those two-year contracts -- we're already paying for the privilege of mobile communications. It would be nice if we didn't have to pay even more.