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PCCA Journal|2

nd

Quarter 2015

34

T

he Pew Research Center, based on a series of

surveys conducted in association with the John

S. and James L. Knight Foundation, recently

released findings on the state of smartphone

ownership in America today.

Today nearly two-thirds of Americans own a smartphone,

and 19 percent of Americans rely to some degree on a smart-

phone for accessing online services and information and for

staying connected to the world around them—either because

they lack broadband at home or because they have few op-

tions for online access other than their cell phone.

Indeed, 7 percent of Americans own a smartphone but

have neither traditional broadband service at home, nor eas-

ily available alternatives for going online other than their cell

phone. The Pew report documents the unique circumstances

of this “smartphone-dependent” population and also explores

the ways in which smartphone owners use their phones to

engage in a wide range of activities.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans are now smartphone own-

ers, and for many these devices are a key entry point to the

online world.

Some 64 percent of American adults now own a smart-

phone of some kind, up from 35 percent in the spring of 2011.

Smartphone ownership is especially high among younger

Americans, as well as those with relatively high income and

education levels.

The connections to online resources that smartphones

facilitate are often most tenuous for those users who rely on

those connections the most.

Even as a substantial minority of Americans indicate that

their phone plays a central role in their ability to access digi-

tal services and online content, for many users this access is

Pew Research Center

Looks at U.S. Smartphone Use

Telecom News

Continued from page 33