Skip to main content

Americans use their smartphones for everything from job searches to avoiding contact with others

Smartphones are now the computer of choice for many people around the globe. And while it’s typically thought that only people in developing countries are relying exclusively on their smartphones for the Internet, a new study from the Pew Research Center indicates that Americans are also gravitating more and more to mobile devices to access the Web.

Smartphone dependent
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Of the 64 percent of Americans who own a smartphone, 10 percent do not have broadband at home, which means that their smartphone is their sole means for accessing the Internet. An additional 15 percent of smartphone owners say they have a limited amount of alternative ways to go online, and so they rely on their smartphones as well. The study found that one in five American adults either do not have access to broadband or have limited access to the Internet outside of their data plan on their phone.

Recommended Videos

A range of factors, including income, ethnicity, and age, were relevant to this phenomenon:

  • Money talks: Pew discovered that 13 percent of Americans with an annual household income of less than $30,000 a year  were completely dependent on their smartphones for Internet access. In contrast, just 1 percent of Americans who earn $75,000 and up a year are dependent solely on their smartphone for Internet access.
  • Age is key: Some 15 percent of Americans between 18 and 29 are heavily dependent on their smartphones for Web access.
  • Ethnicity plays a role: Around 12 percent of African Americans and 13 percent of Latinos are smartphone-dependent, but only 4 percent of whites rely only on their smartphones for Internet access.

To make matters worse for smartphone-reliant Internet users, Pew found that a whopping 48 percent of such smartphone-dependent Americans have had to cancel their phone plans for a while because the they could not afford the monthly fees for data and service. In addition, 30 percent of smartphone-dependent users routinely exceed their data cap and 51 percent say it happens often.

Smartphone need
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The study turned up some interesting trends among the types of activities smartphone users engage in while on the Web. More than half have looked up a health condition or done online banking on their phones. Slightly less than half have looked up real estate listings, job information, and government services. Some even use their phones to apply for jobs and take classes.

When it comes to news, it turns out that smartphone users love to be up to date on info, with nearly 70 percent following breaking news on their smartphones and sharing thoughts on news stories with friends. Turn-by-turn navigation instructions are similarly popular among smartphone users, though public transit directions are used by just 25 percent of Americans. At this point, almost half of Americans say they couldn’t live without their phones.

smartphone use
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the funnier parts of the study details how differently younger smartphone owners use their phones from how older Americans do. Some 91 percent of smartphone users between 18 and 29 used social networks on their phone at least once during the study. In contrast, only 55 percent of those 50 and older used social networks.

Perhaps the most revealing divide between the generations involved phone usage designed to avoid other people or to stave off boredom. Around 93 percent of 18-29 year old smartphone users said they used their phones when bored at least once during the week. Additionally, nearly half of smartphone owners in that age group used their phone to avoid other people. Youngsters did so three times more often than older Americans.

The study holds many more cool nuggets of info, so check out the full thing on the Pew Research Center site.

Malarie Gokey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Mobile Editor, Malarie runs the Mobile and Wearables sections, which cover smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and…
Why I love the Kindle Scribe, and it’s not for reading or taking notes
A person using the Amazon Kindle Scribe and its stylus.

I really wanted to try an e-reader with a bigger screen, and leapt at the chance to spend time with the latest Amazon Kindle Scribe with its 10.2-inch e-paper screen. However, it wasn’t what I expected, and when I started to take notes using the stylus, it highlighted something I've known for a while: I'm terrible at physically writing anything anymore. It then prompted me to do something about it.
Lots of writing

Almost every word I share these days is typed, and has been that way for years and years. Every message, every form, every article, and every note is created digitally. If I write a word with a pen against paper, its in a greeting card, or something mundane like writing my name or address. Even then, it’s an effort not to write only in block capitals, because my cursive text is reduced to a barely legible scribble as my speed increases.

Read more
Instagram is ramping up AI-powered age detection on teen users
The Foto and Instagram app on an Android phone.

The days of teenagers lying about their age on Instagram are over. Meta has announced that they're using AI-powered age detection technology to enroll teens suspected of misrepresenting their age to a restricted Teen Account.

Instagram's parent company announced the AI-driven crackdown on teen Instagram users in a blog post on Monday, saying that it's leveraging its AI, which it has been using to detect the age ranges of many of its users for some time, to detect accounts it suspects belong to teenagers who lied about their age to bypass safeguards, even if they have an adult birthday listed. Instagram said it is taking steps to ensure the AI is accurate and will correctly place teen users into Teen Accounts, but will give users an option to change their settings if their account has been placed into a Teen Account by mistake.

Read more
This luxury Tag Heuer smartwatch has a $900 discount right now
The Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 in black with a Jomashop watermark.

There's been a longstanding thought process that says you can either have luxury or smarts. And we're not talking about life, but rather in watches. Smart watches are seen as a luxury but not luxurious. Old school watches are seen as smartly designed, but not "smart." The rising hybrid watch trend, however, shows that there is a lot of demand for luxurious smart watches.

Tag Heuer's Connected Calibre E4 isn't quite a hybrid, but it is most certainly of the luxury variety. Today, however, it has been marked down in price. By a lot. Tap the button below to see the Tag Heuer Connected Calibre E4 at a price of $1,450. That's $900 less than its retail of $2,350 and a discount of 38%.

Read more