Phones are primary Internet device for Americans

The Pew Research Center survey found 63% of mobile phone owners now use their phone to go online. And because 91% of Americans now own a cell phone, this implies that 57% are "cell Internet users."

The proportion of cell owners who use their phone to go online has doubled since 2009, Pew found. The survey also found 34% of these mobile Internet users use their phones as their primary Internet device, instead of a desktop, laptop or tablet computer.

These "cell-mostly Internet users," account for 21% of the total mobile phone owner population and are most likely to be young adults, non-whites, and those with relatively low income and education levels, the survey found.

Prior Pew studies have found some 56% of US adults own a smartphone, which offers easy Internet access.

The latest report found 85% of mobile phone owners in the 18 to 29 age ground use their handset to go online. That compared with 73% in the 30 to 49 age group and 51% in the 50 to 64 age category.

And in the 18 to 29 age group, nearly half of those with mobile phones say that is their primary device for the Internet.

Some 74% of African-American mobile phone owners are cell Internet users, as are 68% of Hispanics with mobile phones, the survey found.

Those with lower incomes were far more likely to use their phone as their primary Internet device: this was the case for 45% of those with an annual income of less than US$30,000, compared with 27% of those who earn US$75,000 or more.

The report was based on a survey of 2,252 adults and had a margin of error estimated at 2.3 percentage points for the full group and 2.5% for the group using their phones to go online.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge