PEW: Americans usage of location based services

The Pew has a new report out today on Americans usage of location based services.  Libraries have branches because location is important and this technology is underused in our sector for analysis and service.

Pew’s new report with brand new data about Americans’ use of location services—including how many smartphone users get location-based information or use geosocial services like Foursquare, and a few data points related to Americans’ privacy practices and opinions regarding location-tracking.

The report is for immediate release and is available now on our website: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Location.aspx

“The top findings include:

•  Many people use their smartphones to navigate the world: 74% of adult smartphone owners ages 18 and older say they use their phone to get directions or other information based on their current location.
• There is notable growth in the number of social media users who are now setting their accounts to include location in their posts: Among adult social media users ages 18 and older, 30% say that at least one of their accounts is currently set up to include their location in their posts, up from 14% who said they had ever done this in 2011.
• There is a modest drop in the number of smartphone owners who use “check in” location services: Some 12% of adult smartphone owners say they use a geosocial service to “check in” to certain locations or share their location with friends, down from 18% in early 2012. Among these geosocial service users, 39% say they check into places on Facebook, 18% say they use Foursquare, and 14% say they use Google Plus, among other services.”

If you’re interested, we have a short press release on our website as well.

Stephen