I took it as a joke. Many moons ago when my older daughter was starting college, she asked for a cell phone for "emergencies". I could have made the same joke, as my daughter seemed to have a lot of emergencies at school.
That was my thought too, then I got worried and thought I'd better check.
I still know a few people without cell phones. Sometimes I feel jealous of them. I like my phone way too much, and like any addiction, it's a love-hate relationship. These people I know...Somehow, they're just fine. People get ahold of them whenever they get back to the house. They put a little work into memorizing directions or mapquest printouts like the old days, and in fact, can still
read a map! They get more than enough news from the TV, and they share pics with family using a computer. They've adopted the internet, but not cell phones - and are totally free from the addiction to that almighty 3 inch screen! Amazing!