PewInternet.org

The State of Mobile America

Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet Project3.16.12NFAIS – Philadelphia / webinarEmail: Lrainie@pewinternet.orgTwitter: @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…

What I think I know about the rise of mobile learning

1. Mobile connectivity is changing social and information spaces by enhancing/enabling …– New access points to knowledge – Real-time information sharing– Just-in-time searches – Perpetual, pervasive awareness of social

networks– Augmented reality

What I think I know about the rise of mobile learning

2.Ubiquitous small screens are changing attention and media zones (including text-based media!)

What I think I know about the rise of mobile learning

3.Mobile connectivity is changing public and private space/time continuum

What I think I know about the rise of mobile learning

4.New kinds of learners are emerging in the digital environment

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?

Mobile phones – 88% of adults

327.6

Total U.S. population:315.5 million

2011

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

Changes in smartphone ownership

Smartphones – 46%

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

19% of adults own tablet computer - iPad

Cell phones as connecting tools

2/22/2011 16

% 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

Apps – 50% of adults

Apps downloaders by age

Apps provide direct connections to information

Based on August 2011 Pew Internet Tracking Survey

Apps: From Superhighway to Bypass

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 21Internet 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

Mobile local news topics

Instant action – Haiti earthquake donations

In-store purchasing decisions

How Phones Function In Our Lives

% of US adult cell owners who had done each of the following in the past 30 days…

Thank you!