Pew Study Reveals Who's Using Smartphones And How

A new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project has some interesting findings about how Americans are using smartphones.

About one-third, or 33 percent, of Americans surveyed own a smartphone, though adoption is higher among young people, wealthy individuals, and African-American and Latino users.

So what are people doing with their phones? Eighty-seven percent of smartphone users are going online or checking their mail with their smartphones, 67 percent saying they do so daily. Perhaps most notably, 25% of smartphone owners use their phones as their primary means of connecting to the internet. The Washington Post saw this as a sign some are "cutting the computer cord," and noted that people who are "minorities, younger than 30 and have low incomes" are "using mobile devices as a suitable replacement for buying expensive computers and paying DSL or cable modem bills every month[...]"

The Pew study also tracked smartphone users by demographics. Among those who have what Pew calls "higher than average levels of smartphone adoption":

• "The financially well-off" - Those who make over $75,000 per year are (surprise!) more likely to own the more expensive smartphones. Fifty-nine percent do.


• The college-educated - Attaining a degree at a college university apparently makes you significantly more likely to own a smartphone. Forty-nine percent of grads have one.


• Young people - Those under the age of 45 are much more likely to own a smartphone. Leading the way are Americans age 25-34, with a whopping 58% owning smartphones.


• African-Americans and Latinos - A significant portion--44%, well above the national average--own smartphones.

In the survey of 2,277 adults, Android was the most popular smartphone platform, followed by iPhone and BlackBerry.

Though this is the reputable Pew Research Center's first smartphone survey, it is not America's only look at a wide swath of smartphone users. In April, Google surveyed 5,000 smartphone owners and found, among other things, that many of them were using their phones on the toilet. In Canada, meanwhile, a study found that, similar to the U.S., 33% of its citizens were using smartphones.

To read more, visit the Pew Internet website, where the full, fascinating study is available online for free.

Comments

[Mister Grumpy]

09:28 AM on 07/14/2011

Its a great device to watch porn....... it still leaves you with one free hand....... :-)

[Mister Grumpy]

01:23 PM on 07/13/2011

Oh no........ this is sure to get the Apple fanboys all upset....... Android being #1 in smart phones platform...........

[Charles Keledjian]

01:17 PM on 07/13/2011

"many of them were using their phones on the toilet"
What? Not EVERYBODY uses their smartphone on the toilet?

[Mister Grumpy]

01:22 PM on 07/13/2011

Or they do, but just don't admit doing so.............

[jabailo]

12:56 AM on 07/13/2011

While some worry about the next pad, the phone has undercut the PC entirely. At the point it can broadcast HDMI wirelessly to a bigger screen...

[Julian23]

10:55 PM on 07/12/2011

I saw a similar story on this topic on http://www.boobytech.com

I think it was an easy read! Smartphones are the way of the future. These latest statistics simply illuminates the change we all know is occurring in the cell phone industry

[xilduq]

07:39 PM on 07/12/2011

i own a "smart" phone - it makes and receives both phone calls and text messages and it costs US$15.70/month for 200 minutes on AT&T's nationwide network with no contract or fees of any kind.

nationwide coverage for about $0.50/day? that's smart

[xilduq]

07:40 PM on 07/12/2011

p.s. the provider is net10

[theveggiedude]

02:12 AM on 07/13/2011

I pay AT&T $15/mo for my iPad's data plan for 250 min. (no contract). I use it to make and take phone calls with Line2 ($10/mo) over the 3G or wifi. I have never owned a Smartphone, and I doubt I ever will.

[K White]

07:04 PM on 07/12/2011

I love my smartphone, but I don't consider it a suitable replacement for my laptop. On the other hand, if I could only afford one, I suppose I would pick my Evo. I'm shocked there aren't more comments. Where are all the fine folks that love posting about black and latino people draining the welfare and talking on government assisted cell phones? The last time I saw a Safelink commercial, there were no smartphones offered, just an old phone similar to the one that Zack Morris used at Bayside.

[nohopepope2187]

02:28 AM on 07/13/2011

"I'm shocked there aren't more comments."
---
Everyone is more worried about bugging out over DOMA and Casey Anthony.

[bxbbrian]

04:44 PM on 07/12/2011

WP7 is an awesome os, all it needs is the proper marketing and this phone will take off like magic, the os is simply better looking, sleeker , mordern looking os than Android and IOS, i was surprised at how smooth it was also to tell you the truth it makes ANDROID and IOS feel outdated, I BOUGHT THE DELL VENUE PRO VERSION OF WINDOWS PHONE 7, BEST PHONE PURCHASE I EVER MADE, cant wait for the mago update looks amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZML1LzClT4&feature=channel_video_title

[FredDerf]

05:10 PM on 07/12/2011

Is that you Bill?

[Practicality]

03:49 PM on 07/12/2011

Hmmm, interesting, I thought the "financially well-off" (59%) and "African-Americans and Latinos" (44%) seem to be a mutually exclusive group, yet there seems to be a decent union of the two categories :P

[imonlyhereforthelaughs]

04:19 PM on 07/12/2011

Image over practicality. I see women who work in the dry cleaners pop out their Droids and iPhones. Probably can't afford a car, but they got the phone.

[Dan Vasquez]

05:10 PM on 07/12/2011

Not necessarily, the study states that lower income people are using the phone as their primary computer and internet connection.

[PhillyKing]

02:45 PM on 07/13/2011

they give away the phones with a 2 yr contract... and never assume what people can and cannot afford because of what their job is... there could be a second job... they could be living well below their means... their significant other could have a better job and have bought it... etc... never assume

[ladyfractal]

04:31 PM on 07/12/2011

I can't speak to the Latino community but keep in mind that while half of all black Americans are in poverty, half of us are not.

[wjhamilton29464]

05:04 PM on 07/12/2011

If you don't have a car, communication is more important, not less. Knowing where something is really matters when you have to walk or ride a bus there. And if you have a smart phone, in major cities, Google utterly transforms the transit experience with real time schedule and arrival information. I could move around Portland faster by bus than I could in a car (allowing for the time needed to park and un park it) by telling my phone my destination and following the directions it provided. No maps, no schedules and the buses were exactly where the phone said they would be when they were supposed to be there.

[FL Lib]

03:38 PM on 07/12/2011

"In the survey of 2,277 adults, Android was the most popular smartphone platform, followed by iPhone and BlackBerry"
Cue the Apple fan boys -- with their sputtering insistence that Android is on many different phones, whereas iOS is only on a single phone, and therefore iPhone rulez (never mind the stat specifically refers to the most popular smartphone *platform*) - in 5...4...3...2...

[mcamp52]

04:37 PM on 07/12/2011

I'm an Apple fan boy and I'm taking your bait. But only to say it's a big world with plenty of room for plenty of great products. I don't use an Android phone but I am confident it is a superb device and users are very happy with them. We can all use what we like and realize we might like different things and that's OK.

[PhillyKing]

02:47 PM on 07/13/2011

making a statement like that removes ur fanboi status... sorry to say... but fanbois from both sides tend to only praise their devices and put down the others... i argue with them constantly on this site.

[drp103]

03:11 PM on 07/12/2011

Young Egyptian revolutionists come to mind.

[Mitchman57]

02:59 PM on 07/12/2011

"that many of them were using their phones on the toilet"

A little Windex... good to go.

[tgawm123]

04:59 PM on 07/12/2011

Oh I am TOTALLY going to use Banjo (my new fav app btw) to see which of my friends are on the toilet hahaah!

Smartphones are AWESOMEEE!!!! Couldnt live without mine thats for sure!

[J Smith 01]

07:16 PM on 07/12/2011

That probably will explain a drop in Philips' Relieve sale.