the state of mobile connectivity
DESCRIPTION
Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, will present the latest Project findings to the Handheld Librarian Online Conference about how many people have mobile devices and how they use these devices—for accessing all kinds of content, using apps, social media, and for specialized searches such as for politics, news, and for health information. He will also discuss broader public attitudes about why people like mobile connectivity and how they feel challenged by it.TRANSCRIPT
PewInternet.org
The State of Mobile Connectivity
Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project
8.15.12
Handheld Librarian
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Lrainie
The Very Nature of Information Has Changed
All around us
Cheap or free
Shaped and controlled by consumers and networks
Designed for sharing, participation and feedback
Immediate
Embedded in our worlds
Scarce
Expensive
Shaped and controlled by elites
Designed for one-way, mass consumption
Slow moving
External to our worlds
Information was…
Information is…
Information is Woven Into Our Lives
Mobile is the needle, Social Networks are the thread
Social Networks…
Surround us with information through our many
connections
Bring us information from multiple, varied sources
Provide instant feedback, meaning and context
Allow us to shape and create information ourselves and amplify others’ messages
Mobile…
Moves information with us
Makes information accessible ANYTIME and ANYWHERE
Puts information at our fingertips
Magnifies the demand for timely information
Makes information location-sensitive
Overall, if you had to use one single word to describe how you feel about your cell phone, what would that one word be?
331.6
Total U.S. population: 315.5 million
2011
The basics: 88% of adults have mobile devices
Mobile is the Needle: 88% of US Adults Have a Cell Phone
Teen data July 2011 Adult data Feb 2012
% in each age group who have a cell phone
Smartphone tipping point -- 46%
Smartphones – 46%
66%
53%
35%
22% 20% 3%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Millennials (18-34)
Gen X (35-46)
Younger Boomers (47-56)
Older Boomers (57-65)
Silent Generation
(66-74)
G.I. Generation
(75+)
An internet device
17% use mobile as primary or exclusive online connection device
– 45% of those ages 18-29
– 51% of blacks
– 42% of Latinos
– 38% of those in HH earning less than $50K
56% of adults own laptops –
up from 30% in 2006
44% of adults own MP3 players –
up from 11% in 2005
52% of adults own DVRs –
up from 3% in 2002
42% of adults own game consoles
19% of adults own e-book readers – Kindle
Doubles over holiday season
19% of adults own tablet computer – iPad
Doubles over holiday season
Cell phones as connecting tools
2/22/2011 12
% of cell owners
• 64% send photo or video
– Post video 25%
• 55% access social net. site
• 30% watch a video
• 11% have purchased a product
• 11% charitable donation by text
• 60% (of Twitter users) access Twitter
Location services % of smartphone owners
12%
55%
18%
74%*
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Geosocial services Location-based information
services
May 2011 Feb 2012
Apps – 50% of adults
22% 29*
38 43
38* 43*
50*
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Download apps to their phone
Have preloaded apps on their phone
Total who have apps on phone
Sept 2009 May 2010 August 2011
56%
40%
25%
11% 4%
1%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Millennials (18-34)
GenX (35-46)
Younger Boomers (47-56)
Older Boomers (57-65)
Silent Generation (66-
74)
G.I. Generation (75+)
Apps downloaders by age
Apps provide direct connections to information
35%
46%
53%
64%
74%
Get more info about an event you're attending
Help shop or make purchases
Get info about a destination you're visiting
Learn about something you're interested in
News, weather, sports or stocks updates
Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey
Apps: From Superhighway to Bypass
Rise of “connected viewers” – 52% All cell owners • 38used their phone to keep themselves occupied during
commercials or breaks in something they were watching. • 22% used their phone to check whether something they
heard on television was true or not. • 6% of cell owners used their phone to vote for a reality
show contestant. Smartphone owners • 35% use phone to visit a of smasrtphonecell owners who
website that was mentioned on television • 20% used their phone to see what other people were
saying online about a program they were watching • 19% used their phone to post their own comments online
about a program they were watching
Cell phone uses % of cell users have done these things in past 30 days
• Coordinate a meeting or get-together – 41%
• Solve an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered – 35%
• Decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant – 30%
• Find information to help settle an argument they were having – 27%
• Look up a score of a sporting event – 23%
• Get up-to-the-minute traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere – 20%
• Get help in an emergency situation – 19%
Mobile health
• 17% of cell owners have used their phone to look up health or medical information; 29% of cell owners ages 18-29 have done such searches.
• 9% of cell owners have software applications or “apps” on their phones that help them track or manage their health; 15% of those ages 18-29 have such apps.
Mobile politics - 26% of adults used cell phones for political purposes in 2010
3/9/2011 21 Internet and Politics
• 14% used their cell phones to tell others that they voted
• 12% used their cell phones to keep up with political news
• 10% sent text messages relating to the election
• 6% used their cells to let others know about conditions at their local voting stations on election day
• 4% used their phones to monitor results on election night
• 3% used their cells to shoot/share photos/videos about election
• 1% used a cell-phone app that provided updates about election news
• 1% contributed money by text message
News and local news
All adults
84% own a cell phone and/or
tablet computer
47% get local news or information on their cell phone or
tablet
In-store purchasing decisions
34% 22% 22%
38%
25% 24%
0%
20%
40%
60%
Call a friend for advice about a purchase
Look up prices online of a product you found in a
store
Look up product reviews online of a product you
found in a store
% of all adults % of cell owners
How Phones Function In Our Lives
13%
27%
29%
42%
51%
30%
42%
32%
70%
64%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Pretended to be using phone to avoid interacting with those around them
Had trouble doing something because they did not have phone with them
Turned phone off to get a break from using it
Used phone to entertain themselves while bored
Used phone to get information they needed right away
18-29 year-olds Total adults
% of US adult cell owners who had done each of the following in the past 30 days…
Thank you!