Pew Internet: New report on the impact of cell phone internet use

Pew released new findings on cell phone internet use that highlight the central role of mobile phones in Americans’ online browsing habits. The full report is available at: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Cell-Internet-Use-2012.aspx.  

The main finding is that more than half of adult cell owners now use their phones to go online, and 31% of these cell internet users say that theymostly go online using their cell phone. That means that 17% of all adult cell owners now do most of their online browsing using their mobile phone—and not some other device such as a desktop or laptop computer.

Among the other key findings:

·        55% of adult cell owners now use the internet on their mobile phones; that is nearly double what we found as recently as three years ago.

·        Young adults and non-whites are especially likely to say that most of their internet use occurs on their mobile phone

·        When asked why they do most of their online browsing on their phone, 64% of these “cell-mostly” users point towards the convenience and ubiquitous availability of mobile devices. However, 10% say that they rely heavily on their cell phones because they lack more traditional online access.”

Stephen