According to the findings of a new Pew Internet research study, 28% of American adults now actively use some form of mobile location services.
This user base primarily turns to mobile location services for help with directions, locating a particular destination, or to engage with social media platforms.
The results of the survey are based on a national telephone survey of 2,277 adults conducted April 26-May 22, 2011.
Other insightful findings include:
- 28% of cell owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location—that works out to 23% of all adults.
- A much smaller number (5% of cell owners, equaling 4% of all adults) use their phones to check in to locations using geosocial services such as Foursquare or Gowalla. Smartphone owners are especially likely to use these services on their phones.
- 9% of internet users set up social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn so that their location is automatically included in their posts on those services. That works out to 7% of all adults.
“Taken together,” Pew reports, “28% of U.S. adults do at least one of these activities either online or using their mobile phones—and many users do several of them. This is the Pew Internet Project’s most expansive study of location services to date; in previous surveys, we have asked only about the use of geosocial or “check in” services.”
To learn about the report and its findings, click here.