There is a segment of the population that can hardly remember life before the Internet. No need to be tethered to a computer, many Americans can’t imagine life before the Internet was available their fingertips, in their pockets and purses.
A new survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that 17% of Americans are using the Internet on their phones rather than a computer. Pew surveyed 2,254 adults over 18 between March 15 and April 13.
Nearly 90% of the adults surveyed owned a cell phone, and 55% of cell owners used their phones to browse the Internet, 31% of whom said they mostly use their phone to go online. Sixty percent of the survey’s participants said they use the web on their phones, but their web browsing predominantly occurs on other devices, and 45% said they don’t use the web on their phones at all.
With much of the country’s youth permanently attached to their mobile devices, it’s no wonder that the survey found that 45% of all 18-29-year-olds do the majority of their online browsing on their phones.
African American (55%) and Hispanic Americans (42%) are more likely to rely on their phones to use the Internet than white cell users (23%). The survey showed a similar trend among participants who earned less than $50,000 per year and those who had not earned a college degree.
Follow Elise Rambaud Marrion on Twitter @emarrion_cmn.
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